Venture Capital Investment in Blockchain and Crypto Up 280% in 2018, Report Shows

"Traditional" venture capital investment in blockchain and crypto firms has almost tripled in the first three quarters of 2018, according to a new Diar report published September 30.

Diar cites data from Pitchbook that indicates that blockchain and crypto-related firms have raised almost $3.9 billion in VC capital in so far this year - a 280 percent rise as compared with last year.

VC investment and deal count in blockchain and crypto-related firms, 2013-18.

The combined total of the ten largest deals in 2018 came to $1.3 billion, with nine of these representing traditional equity investments, rather than purchases of utility crypto tokens.

Pitchbook's figures revealed that Barry Silbert's Digital Currency Group was "By far" the most prolific investor from the VC sector, closing over 110 deals in the crypto and blockchain space this year.

DCG outflanked both Blockchain Capital and Pantera Capital, whose combined deals clocked in at 100.Other strong investors included VC firms Andreessen Horowitz, Danhua Capital, and Future Perfect Ventures, alongside "Active angels" Tim Draper, Naval Ravikant, Roger Ver, and Barry Silbert.

Beyond these major players, Diar reports that close to 2,000 investors have closed deals with at least one blockchain firm this year - the fifty most active of these have invested in "At least" eight.

In terms of investor profiles, 52 percent of investors were not exclusively focused on the crypto and blockchain sector, but sealed their deals as part of a more diverse portfolio.

Diar's new report also includes a section on the phenomenon of new banking operations that aim to facilitate the blockchain industry, whether blockchain-exclusive banks built "From the ground up," banks that integrate fiat and crypto services, or the rising number of crypto-related firms that are securing banking licenses.

As reported earlier today, South Korea's largest VC firm, Korea Investment Partners, has invested in its first blockchain startup - one that specializes in harnessing the technology for supply chain management solutions.