Digital Currency Group Data Reveals Turbulent Crypto Investment Landscape

United States blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused venture capital company Digital Currency Group (DCG) has made almost 130 investments in the industry to date, the firm revealed in a blog post on April 1.

Summarizing its performance since 2016, DCG, which is headed by well-known cryptocurrency advocate Barry Silbert, invested in 127 startups, the majority of funding coming in the form of seed rounds.

While not exhaustive, the company suggested the data was useful for gaining a comparison between the blockchain and crypto market in 2016 and at the end of 2018.

“Startups of all stripes have been raising increasingly more money in seed rounds, and this holds true for US-based blockchain companies,” the blog post summarized. The report notes that the average size of seed rounds in the U.S. that the firm joined grew 67 percent from 2016 to 2018, from $1.94 million to $3.24 million.

Crypto industry startups have had to weather intensely changeable markets over the past three years. From flat conditions in 2016, 2017 saw a consumer market frenzy in the wake of the initial coin offering phenomenon, while last year became known for its bearish retraction.

“In 2017 — which was a period of deranged froth in the public markets for tokens — valuations skyrocketed. The average seed-stage valuation jumped from $10.68mm [million] in 2016 to $15.51mm [million] in 2017 (+45%),” DCG noted, adding:

“But things reversed in 2018. While last year was a bloodbath for publicly traded tokens, valuations in private seed-stage rounds we joined fell modestly, to an average of $12.93mm [million] (-17%).”

DCG did not mention its current status and plans for the upcoming year, amid signs optimism is nonetheless broadly returning to markets.

As Cointelegraph reported, fellow venture capital player Pantera Capital is eyeing the 2020 Bitcoin (BTC) block reward halving as a catalyst to propel prices higher, signalling a definitive end to 2018’s bear market.