Top 10 Crypto VCs to Watch in 2024

The Web3 world is always in a state of flux, and venture capital firms dedicated to bootstrapping blockchain projects play a huge role in maintaining that fluidity.

Hedge funds and family offices are competing with angel investors to fund a range of crypto projects, from decentralized social networks, layer 1 networks, and infrastructure providers to DePIN, PlayTune Games, and moonshot MemeCoin.

We know the heavy hitters like Paradigm, PCG, Pantera, Coinbase, and a16z, but a significant portion of the investment comes from lesser-known but highly active VCs, tight-knit teams that are constantly scouting the periphery for the next 100x. Here are 10 crypto VCs to watch in 2024.

Paper Ventures

Launched in early 2024, Paper Ventures has wasted no time establishing itself as an ambitious player in the crowded web3 VC space. From the start, the founder-focused firm announced a $25 million war chest dedicated to strategic investments in early-stage and pre-seed projects where the team believes they can deliver the most value.

Coincidentally, the founding team consists of Danish Chaudhry, Oliver Blakey, and Ivailo Jordanov. These are three OG investors who are deeply involved in gaming. They have a wealth of resources and industry connections that have been through multiple cycles. This year, Paper has invested in and led rounds for several promising projects, including digital identity solution Holonym, a new crypto casino Monkey Tilt, and entertainment-focused superchain Sophon.

Rarestone Capital

Rarestone Capital is an early-stage VC founded in the DeFi summer of 2020. Focused on supporting founders with intellectual and financial capital at the pre-seed and seed stages, the fund brings 5+ years of veteran on-chain expertise to its portfolio.

Rarestone’s founding partners all specialize in different areas of expertise and bring a diverse skill set to the table. This includes product, strategy, marketing, finance and business development. The fund’s most promising investments include Jito, Spectral, Qredo, Biconomy, Manta and Solana.

DWF Research Institute

DWF Labs is a prolific web3 investor and market maker, and one of the industry’s leading high-frequency cryptocurrency trading institutions. In addition to investing in early-stage projects, DWF also supports market making, product development, marketing, and OTC clearing, leveraging its extensive experience in spot and derivatives markets trading on over 60 top exchanges.

Since 2022, the Singapore-based firm has invested in over 740 projects, in some cases covering all costs to ensure that the project tokens are brought to market quickly and perform as expected. Another advantage of DWF is that it is one of the few VCs that can invest. and Because it allows for market manipulation, it is very attractive to entrepreneurs who want ongoing strategic support in addition to capital support.

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Nascent is a VC comprised of “builders, investors, and explorers,” which is a roundabout way of saying that the team has a very similar background to the crypto founders they regularly support. Launched in 2020, the fund is specifically focused on supporting early-stage projects that are building products and building blocks for the open finance world.

In recent years, Nascent has lent its financial muscle to companies such as Morpho Labs, Satflow, Yup, and Messari, following the instincts and experience of co-founders Joshua Felker and Dan Elitzer.

GamePie Ventures

As the name suggests, GameFi Ventures primarily invests in blockchain-based games, which the company believes will usher in the next generation of gaming.

Launched in 2021, the Hong Kong-based fund has amassed an impressive portfolio over the past three years, with pledges to back a range of games including Aradena, Shrapnel and Apeiron. Earlier this year, it made an undisclosed investment in MANTRA, an L1 chain focused on tokenising real-world assets.

Arca

Arca, an asset management firm offering institutional-grade products for discerning investors, brings traditional pragmatism to the wild world of web3. With over 20 years of credit and equity experience, the firm analyzes global economic events and asset classes, as well as cryptocurrency-related events, to identify early-stage ventures to add to your portfolio.

Since its initial entry into the crypto space, Arca has invested in a variety of projects including games, infrastructure protocols, wallet solutions, and DeFi platforms, with notable examples including ImmutableX, Mythos, and Mintify.

Raptor Capital

Headquartered in Singapore, Raptor Capital is an investment and advisory firm focused on nurturing the next generation of innovative blockchain startups. It has advised on a number of projects including YOP, FalconSwap, and OPT, and was founded by Oliver Ngg, a top crypto influencer.

Founded in 2020 during the pandemic, the company has since invested in around 30 web3 ventures, including Fame AI, DAO Maker, MetaWars, Coin98, GullNetwork, and Victoria VR.

Hustle Fund

Hustle Fund is not your typical VC, and that’s obvious when you read their bios. “We were founders before we sold and became VCs,” they admit. “So we know how amazing and terrifying startup life can be. Our team brings real stories and real advice to our relationships.”

Launched in 2018 by former 500 Startups partners Elizabeth Yin and Eric Bahn, Hustle Fund invests in early-stage startups across the U.S., Canada, and Southeast Asia, backing founders with viable ideas rather than impressive resumes or degrees. While not exclusively focused on Web3, the firm made notable investments in blockchain projects, including wealth management platform DwellFi, earlier this year.

Blockchain Founders Fund

Blockchain Founders Fund, as you might expect, funds blockchain startups. Like many of the other companies on this list, this Singapore-based early-stage VC was founded in 2018 and has earned a reputation as one of the most active investors in the industry, having funded over 100 startups at pre-seed and seed stages.

Last year, the fund achieved its biggest milestone to date, closing its largest fund ever at $75 million, drawing participation from the likes of Polygon, Ripple, and NEO Global Capital (NGC). It shows no signs of slowing down.

Heartcore Web3

Confusingly, Heartcore Web3 shares its name with one of Europe’s top tech-focused VCs (they launched a Web3 fund last year, which is even more confusing), hence the Web3 in the name. In any case, this crypto-based firm specializes in investing in protocols and tokens, with a focus on the application layer.

OG investor Heartcore Web3 first participated in the Ethereum ICO in 2014 and has since invested in a variety of projects including DeFi protocols, DePIN, privacy solutions, and NFTs.

Well, here it is: 10 crypto VCs to watch if you’re interested in monitoring the temperature of the blockchain world. Welcome.