A review of the top 20 crypto companies/projects with the highest funding amounts in 2021: FTX, NYDIG, and DCG ranked in the top three, each exceeding $1.3 billion

Organizer: Dong Yiming, Chain Catcher

In 2021, with the continuous development of the cryptocurrency market, more and more funds flowed into the crypto industry, including several financing events of hundreds of millions of dollars. According to statistics from Chain Catcher, this year at least more than 20 companies/projects in the crypto industry have raised over $200 million, with FTX, NYDIG, and DCG ranking in the top three, each exceeding $1.3 billion.

In terms of investment institutions, a16z participated in investments in 5 companies/projects, Tiger Global in 4, while Coinbase and Ribbit Capital each invested in 3 companies/projects.

The following are the detailed information of these 20 companies/projects:

1st: FTX, total financing amount of $1.32 billion

FTX was founded in May 2019 and has long ranked among the top five cryptocurrency exchanges in terms of trading volume. Its products cover spot trading, derivatives trading, leveraged tokens, prediction markets, stock tokens, etc., with the latest round of financing valuing the company at $25 billion.

FTX's Series B financing this year was participated by over 60 investors, including Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, Multicoin Capital, Thoma Bravo, Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Third Point, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Altimeter, BOND, NEA, Coinbase Ventures, Willoughby Capital, 40North, Senator Investment Group, Sino Global Capital, and Circle, raising a total of $900 million.

The B-1 round of financing was participated by 69 investment institutions, including the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Temasek Holdings, Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global, raising $420 million.

2nd: NYDIG, total financing amount of $1.3 billion

NYDIG was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in New York, USA. It mainly provides comprehensive, institutional-grade solutions for traditional financial companies focused on Bitcoin, including purchasing, custody, and trading Bitcoin. In the latest round of financing, its valuation exceeded $7 billion.

In 2021, NYDIG completed three rounds of financing: the first round was invested by Stone Ridge Holdings Group, Morgan Stanley, New York Life, MassMutual, Soros Fund Management, and FS Investments, raising $200 million.

A month later, it received another $100 million investment from strategic partners, including insurance companies Starr Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and other insurers.

The third round of financing was led by WestCap, with participation from previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners and FinTech Collective, as well as strategic partners Affirm, FIS, Fiserv, MassMutual, Morgan Stanley, and New York Life, raising $1 billion.

3rd: Digital Currency Group (DCG), total financing amount of $1.3 billion

DCG was founded by Barry Silbert in 2015 in New York, USA. Its business involves building, acquiring, and investing in blockchain/cryptocurrency companies globally. Currently, DCG has supported over 160 companies in more than 30 countries, covering various fields in the cryptocurrency industry, including media, payments, and exchanges. Notable subsidiaries of DCG include digital asset management company Grayscale, cryptocurrency brokerage Genesis Trading, blockchain media platform CoinDesk, and Bitcoin miner Foundry. The company is currently valued at $10 billion.

In 2021, DCG completed two rounds of financing. The first round raised $700 million, led by SoftBank Group's Vision Fund 2 and Latin America Fund, with participation from GIC Capital, Ribbit Capital, and CapitalG of Alphabet Inc.

The second round was a $600 million debt financing led by Eldridge, with participation from Capital Group, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Francisco Partners.

4th: Forte, total financing amount of $910 million

Forte was founded in 2019 by a team of seasoned gaming industry professionals, aiming to create an application platform that accelerates the implementation of blockchain technology for game developers, supporting peer-to-peer economic systems in existing and new games. The Forte team has developed several leading technology platforms for the gaming industry, and their past games have captivated hundreds of millions of players worldwide. Currently, there are over 40 game developer partners.

In 2021, the company completed two rounds of financing. The Series A financing was led by Griffin Gaming Partners, with participation from Union Grove Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Battery Ventures, and early-stage venture capital firm Canaan, raising $185 million.

The Series B financing was co-led by Sea Capital and Kora Management, with other investors including Animoca Brands, Big Bets (Huuuge Games), Overwolf, Playstudios, Warner Music Group, zVentures Gaming Partners, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Tiger Global, raising a total of $725 million.

5th: Celsius Network, total financing amount of $750 million

Celsius Network was founded by Alex Mashinsky between 2017 and 2018 as a cryptocurrency lending platform. It acts like a bank for the cryptocurrency market, providing interest to depositors while also earning interest through lending services. This is a very old and effective business model, but the difference between Celsius and traditional banks is that it lends cryptocurrencies. According to information provided by Celsius, as of mid-October 2021, there were over 1,180,000 users, with nearly 420,000 active users, managing assets worth $26.4 billion.

This year, Celsius completed a $400 million Series B financing led by WestCap and CDPQ, but due to oversubscription, the Series B financing amount increased from $400 million to $750 million.

6th: Sorare, total financing amount of $680 million

Sorare was founded in 2019 as a blockchain-based football gaming platform that represents football stars through NFTs, allowing players to purchase NFT virtual football star cards certified by football clubs or leagues on Sorare's platform, build their own teams, and participate in various football competitions on the platform, reshaping the way football fans interact. Currently, the company is valued at $4.3 billion.

The platform completed two rounds of financing in 2021. The first round raised $50 million, led by early Uber supporter and venture capital firm Benchmark, with participation from venture capital firm Accel and Barcelona forward and Messi's teammate Antoine Griezmann.

In the Series B financing, Sorare raised $680 million, led by SoftBank, with participation from Atomico, Bessemer Ventures, D1 Capital, Eurazeo, IVP, Liontree, Benchmark, Accel, and Headline.

7th: Dapper Labs, total financing amount of $550 million

Dapper Labs was founded in February 2018 as a blockchain game developer, aiming to bring the advantages of decentralization to 1 billion consumers through the power of gaming. Dapper Labs is known for creating the NBA Top Shots NFT card collection project and is also the developer of well-known games like Cryptokitties. Earlier this year, it officially launched the Flow public chain and is currently valued at $7.6 billion.

The company completed two rounds of financing in 2021, with the first round led by investment firm Coatue, with NBA stars like Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant also participating in this round of investment.

The second round of financing was also led by Coatue, with participation from a16z, Google Ventures, and Version One Ventures.

8th: Bitpanda, total financing amount of $445.16 million

Bitpanda was founded in 2014, originally named Coinmal. Bitpanda is a cryptocurrency trading platform based in Austria, providing brokerage services for Bitcoin and other digital assets. Bitpanda has a wallet and trading platform that allows users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies using euros, credit cards, Skrill, SEPA transfers, and more. It is reported that Bitpanda currently has over 3 million users and supports more than 50 digital assets, with a valuation of $4.1 billion.

The platform completed two rounds of financing in 2021, with the Series B financing raising $170 million, led by Valar Ventures and DST Global, followed by an additional €10 million in Series B extension financing.

The Series C financing raised $263 million, led by Peter Thiel's Valar Ventures, with participation from Alan Howard, REDO Ventures, and existing investors LeadBlock Partners and Jump Capital.

9th: Circle, total financing amount of $440 million

Circle was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in Boston, USA, and is currently the issuer of the well-known US dollar stablecoin USDC. According to CoinMarketcap data, USDC currently has a market capitalization exceeding $42 billion, ranking second among stablecoins and seventh among all cryptocurrencies.

In 2021, Circle raised $440 million, with investors including Fidelity, Marshall Wace, Willett Advisors, Intersection Fintech Ventures, Atlas Merchant Capital, Digital Currency Group, FTX, Breyer Capital, Valor Capital Group, and Pillar VC, currently valued at $4.5 billion.

10th: Genesis Digital Assets, total financing amount of $431 million

Genesis Digital Assets was established in 2013. As of September 2021, Genesis Digital Assets' data centers had a power generation capacity exceeding 170 megawatts, with a total hash rate exceeding 3.3 EH/s. In the next 12 months, it is expected to increase by another 8.6 EH/s, and by the end of 2023, Genesis Digital Assets expects its power generation capacity to exceed 1.4 gigawatts (GW).

In July this year, Genesis Digital Assets completed $125 million in financing, with Kingsway Capital as the investor. In September, it completed $431 million in financing, led by Paradigm, with participation from NYDIG, Stoneridge, FTX, Ribbit, Electric Capital, Skybridge, and Kingsway Capital.

11th: Anchorage, total financing amount of $430 million

Cryptocurrency custodian Anchorage was co-founded in 2017 by Diogo Mónica, who previously worked at Square, and Nathan McCauley, former security director at Docker Inc. Anchorage is the first cryptocurrency company to receive approval from U.S. national banking regulators. The company is currently valued at $3 billion.

In 2021, Anchorage completed two rounds of financing, raising $80 million in Series C financing, led by Singapore's GIC, with participation from a16z, Blockchain Capital, Lux, and Indico.

The Series D financing raised $350 million, with participation from Goldman Sachs, KKR, Alameda Research, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), BlackRock, Blockchain, Kraken, and PayPal Ventures.

12th: Blockchain.com, total financing amount of $420 million

Blockchain.com was founded in 2011, with main businesses including a blockchain explorer, cryptocurrency wallet, exchange, and providing a series of solutions such as asset custody and lending for institutions. Its venture capital arm, Blockchain Ventures, has invested in dozens of projects, including Securitize, Aave, and Near.

In February and March 2021, the platform completed two rounds of financing, raising $120 million and $300 million, respectively. In the latest round of financing, Blockchain.com was valued at $5.2 billion, with the round led by DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and VY Capital.

13th: Ledger, total financing amount of $380 million

Ledger was founded in 2014 and is a leader in the basic security solutions for cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The hardware produced by Ledger allows users to securely store and control their cryptocurrency private keys. Ledger is headquartered in Paris and San Francisco, currently has 82 employees, and offers a variety of products and services related to cryptocurrency asset security, providing security guarantees for individuals and institutions, including cryptocurrency hardware wallets sold in 165 countries, currently valued at $1.5 billion.

In 2021, Ledger completed $380 million in Series C financing, led by the digital asset fund 10T Fund, founded by macro investor Dan Tapiero, with participation from Tekne Capital, Uphold Ventures, Felix Capital, Inherent, Financière Agache (Groupe Arnault), and iAngels Technologies.

14th: BlockFi, total financing amount of $350 million

BlockFi was founded in 2017 and has long provided lending services to the crypto market, as well as offering trading execution services for retail and institutional clients, and customized credit and structured products for institutional clients, including hedge funds/family offices, market makers/OTC trading platforms, crypto companies, and high-net-worth individuals.

In 2021, BlockFi completed its $350 million Series D financing, reaching a valuation of $3 billion, with investors including Tiger Global and Bain Capital Ventures. BlockFi stated that the funds from this financing will be used to launch a Bitcoin credit card, expand internationally, and make strategic acquisitions.

15th: Alchemy, total financing amount of $330 million

Alchemy is a company that provides development services for DeFi, NFTs, and other crypto projects, headquartered in San Francisco. Specifically, this company is based on cloud technology, helping clients improve blockchain app development efficiency and reduce development costs by reducing the amount of code editing required by blockchain developers. Its core product, Supernode, reduces the workload of nodes (which play a key role in processing transactions) and ensures that the transaction data stored in nodes is "correct" and "up-to-date." Alchemy's clients include Dapper Labs, CryptoKitties, NBA Top Shot, the popular NFT game Axie Infinity, and the world's largest comprehensive NFT trading platform OpenSea.

On October 28, 2021, Alchemy completed $250 million in financing at a valuation of $3.5 billion, led by a16z. In this round of financing, the company's valuation increased sevenfold compared to six months ago, having previously announced an $80 million Series B financing at a valuation of $505 million on April 28, with participation from Pantera Capital, Coinbase, and others.

16th: Solana Labs, total financing amount of $314 million

Solana Labs is the technology development company behind the high-performance public chain Solana, driving Solana to become one of the hottest public chains this year.

Solana Labs raised $314 million in 2021, led by a16z and Polychain Capital, with participation from Alameda Research, CMS Holdings, CoinShares, Jump Trading, Multicoin Capital, and Sino Global Capital.

17th: Fire Blocks, total financing amount of $300 million

Fire Blocks was founded in 2018, providing secure infrastructure for transferring, storing, and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks helps exchanges, lending desks, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds securely scale digital asset operations through the Fireblocks network and MPC-based electronic wallet infrastructure. Fireblocks has securely transferred over $150 billion in digital assets and has a unique insurance policy covering asset storage and transfer.

In 2021, Fire Blocks completed over $300 million in new financing, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Stripes, SVB Capital, and Spark Capital, among others, including DRW VC and SBC 10X. This round of financing will increase its overall valuation to over $2 billion in less than six months.

18th: Paxos, total financing amount of $300 million

Paxos was founded in 2013 and is a digital asset trust company based in New York. In 2018, the company launched the Paxos Standard (PAX), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. As a licensed qualified custodian, the law allows the company to hold digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as gold, on behalf of institutional investors. The institution is also providing cryptocurrency trading API solutions for one of the largest U.S. brokerages, Interactive Brokers (IBKR), allowing IBKR users to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, BCH, and LTC directly.

In 2021, stablecoin issuer Paxos completed $300 million in Series D financing at a valuation of $2.4 billion, led by Oak HC/FT, with participation from PayPal Ventures, Declaration Partners, Liberty City Ventures, and others.

19th: FalconX, total financing amount of $260 million

FalconX is a cryptocurrency trading platform based in San Mateo, California, connected to over 100 trading platforms, providing pricing for clients including hedge funds, venture funds, and payment providers.

In March 2021, it completed a $50 million financing round, led by Tiger Global and B Capital Group, with participation from Accel, Coinbase Ventures, and Avon Ventures.

In August, it secured $210 million in the latest financing round, led by Altimeter Capital, Sapphire Ventures, B Capital Group, and Tiger Global Management, with participation from Amex Ventures, American Express's division, and Mirae Asset, increasing its valuation more than fivefold in five months to $3.75 billion.

20th: BitDAO, total financing amount of $230 million

BitDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) initiated by Bybit, founded with the intention of allocating significant funds and talent resources to promote DeFi growth, particularly in terms of funding, research and development, and liquidity. Currently, it is one of the largest DAOs by treasury size, managing approximately $2.5 billion in assets.

In June 2021, BitDAO announced the completion of $230 million in financing, led by Peter Thiel, Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, and Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Alan Howard, Jump Capital, Spartan Group, Fenbushi, and Kain Warwick (Synthetix).