Crypto start-ups: a false recovery

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.