European VC investment in crypto startups reached an all-time high of $5.7B in 2022, while global and US venture funding in the space contracted. Europe has also the largest number of startups working on blockchain and crypto solutions – more than the US or Asia. However, along the startup funding journey, the proportion of European startups decreases. As a result, US still leads the number of unicorns created.
The three main market segments where crypto found application are:
Automation of financial services: Blockchains allow for digitally-native financial transactions, as users can transfer assets and value on the internet, independent from the traditional banking system.
Web3 consumer: In automating crypto asset rewards for desired behaviours, blockchains allow for digitally-governed global communities where members can coordinate actions and transfer value and asset ownership across ranks.
Infrastructure: Blockchains rely on a comprehensive ecosystem of software, hardware and services for sustainable performance and user accessibility.
In 2022, more than half of the total investment in European crypto companies went to projects offering financial products and services, with Centralized Finance (CeFi) attracting $1.7B and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) accounting for $1.2B. The second-most funded segment was blockchain infrastructure at $1.8B, with Layer1s ($440M) and developer tools ($364M) attracting large sums of capital.
Original source: https://app.dealroom.co/lists/37202
