Crypto venture funding hits $860 million in October, highest in over 6 months

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

Venture capital (VC) funds invested $860 million in crypto startups last month, a 30% leap from the amount registered in September and the highest since April’s $954 million earlier in the year, according to DefiLlama data.

Investments in the blockchain gaming sector surpassed $110 million, growing for the third consecutive month by showing a significant 75% leap between September and October. 

The mobile gaming studio Azra Games conducted the largest funding round in this sector, receiving $42.7 million from Pantera Capital, a16z Crypto, and NFX.

Infrastructure dominance

Infrastructure solutions secured the most prominent VC investments, with $609 million in venture money pouring into the sector, up 33% from September.

Bitcoin-focused infrastructure provider Blockstream received $210 million from Fulgur Ventures, the largest funding round in this sector by a substantial margin.

Yellow Card, a startup building on and off-ramping solutions for African users, received the second largest investment among infrastructure startups, with $33 million captured in a Series C round.

Glow Labs, a firm using blockchain to create a community-powered platform to drive solar energy adoption, secured $30 million in the third largest infrastructure-related funding round.

DeFi recovers

The DeFi sector saw a recovery in funding after experiencing a 55% decline in funding between August and September, securing $98 million in funding for the month.

Solv, a platform for Bitcoin staking, raised $11 million from Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital, and OKX Ventures in October’s most significant DeFi funding round. 

Variational raised a similar amount to build its decentralized derivatives platform, with Bain Capital Crypto and Peak XV Partners allocating $10.3 million in a seed round.