Source: AdobeStock / Rafael Henrique
Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has released a report on blockchain funding across 2022 and 2023 highlighting the latest trends including gender disparities in the present VC ecosystem.
In a Jan 11 release, the exchange revealed that blockchain startups have received $27.85 billion between January 2022 and Q3 2023 while marking a 70% fall per quarter across that period.
<Meet Bitget at Davos in 5 days>
Join us at #Web3HubDavos as our star speakers share their insights on how we can bridge the gender gap.
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— Bitget (@bitgetglobal) January 11, 2024
“The Bitget team based their research approach on the period from 2022 to the first three quarters of 2023 to receive up-to-date insights into the current market’s principles of evaluation and gain insights into potential trends.”
Of this figure, female Web3 startups only attracted 6.34% of the total figure. That’s a massive 45.2% plunge since 2022. Despite the reduced numbers over time, it recorded a slight growth from 8.3% in 2022 to 8.6% in 2023, showing signs of more increases as things scale up.
According to the report, the reason female startups receive fewer funds compared to their male counterparts can be linked to several factors. These include present market trends, investor’s sentiment for a given project, and general bias.
Investor bias which is also present in traditional finance spaces contributes 90% of why funds are channelled for male creatives. As noted above, the market cycle affects the general inflow of funds to new companies.
Bearish window for crypto and Web3 fuels bias
The bearish window which gripped the market for several months in 2022 saw declining asset prices, investor sentiment, and low on-chain volume. While macroeconomic factors and industry collapse contributed to the state of affairs, bottleneck regulations also reduced the rate of investors flowing into the scene.
After the fall of the Terra Network and the implosion of FTX, global regulators tightened several aspects of the market with rules while also instituting lawsuits against multiple industry executives.
Overall, the bearish market saw funding drop by 61.6% in 2022 with the lowest figure per quarter standing at $1.97 billion, a 29% drop from early months in 2022.
While startups attracted $27.85 billion, female-led Web3 firms posted only $1.77 billion due to the prevailing bias in the market. This gender bias reduces the opportunity for women and in turn, affects the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies into female-related fields in traditional finance.
Gracy Chen, the Managing Director of Bitget stated the firm’s commitment to changing the status quo and bringing talent as the sole narrative for driving funding regardless of gender.
“…The disparities illuminated by our study serve as a poignant reminder that we must proactively strive for an ecosystem where talent and potential are the sole criteria, devoid of gender bias. Our commitment remains resolute in fostering an inclusive environment, where everyone, regardless of gender, enjoys equal opportunities within this transformative sector.”
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