Crypto start-ups: a false recovery
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While fundraising announcements are multiplying in the crypto ecosystem, the majority of start-ups are still struggling because of the bearish environment.

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If the news of recent weeks is anything to go by, all is well in the crypto ecosystem. Major groups are continuing to invest, and start-ups are raising money. Fipto, Bubblemaps, Qwarks and Oval3, to name but a few, have all made handsome rounds.

But in reality, things are (much) more complicated than that, especially for the smaller players.

"A lot of start-ups are sticking their tongues out," explains the head of a European Web3 fund. The context is well-known: a large part of the public has turned away from NFTs and cryptos, and companies are putting the brakes on investment as they wait to find out what will happen in the coming months and above all which player to work with.

While some are managing to hold out, by tightening budgets, others have not been so lucky. This is particularly true of Kanji, which helps companies create NFTs. According to our information, the French start-up, which had raised just over €5 million, has closed down in recent weeks. Investors have recouped part of their stake.

Other start-ups are also in complicated positions. "Some are in the process of pivoting in order to continue to grow", explains another investor. This is particularly the case in NFTs, where the market is particularly complicated.

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Raphaël Bloch

Raphaël Bloch is CEO and co-founder of The Big Whale, an independent market intelligence platform on digital assets serving financial market participants through editorial coverage, research, a weekly briefing, and in-person events. He co-founded The Big Whale in April 2022. At the platform, he moderates and hosts institutional events bringing together banks, asset managers, custodians, and infrastructure providers on topics including staking, on-chain yield, stablecoins, DeFi lending, and tokenisation. He has moderated panels at events hosted in partnership with Bitwise, Everstake, Gemini, Morpho, Hexarq, Coinhouse, Delubac, Franklin Templeton, and the Ethereum Foundation, held in London and Paris between late 2025 and mid-2026.

Before founding The Big Whale, Bloch worked as a reporter at Les Echos from December 2016 to March 2020, then at L'Express from March 2020 to March 2022. He also previously worked at Reuters. Since September 2022, he has held a concurrent role as Business Analyst at BFM Business. He has been active in crypto journalism since 2016. He holds degrees from emlyon and the CFJ.

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