Crypto investments in May reached $1 billion, slightly lower than the previous month, according to KuCoin. The report revealed that there were 156 disclosed investments totaling $1.02 billion in the crypto space. While this was a 10.61% increase from the previous year, it also showed a 6.4% decline from April.
Institutional investors showed interest in Ethereum, EVM chains, and L2 network projects, but non-EVM chains like Bitcoin, Solana, Fantom, and TON also made it to the top 15 favored networks in May. Animoca Brands and OKX Ventures were the most active investors, with Animoca Brands participating in 15 deals and OKX Ventures in 11 projects.
KuCoin Research highlighted a shift in investor focus towards memes and celebrity tokens amidst concerns about low float and high FDV trends in the market. This led to increased attention on obscure low-market-cap assets and new narratives. Notcoin (NOT) emerged as a beneficiary of this shift, reaching the fifth most-traded cryptocurrency position with a price surge to $0.02896 and a market cap exceeding $2 billion.
The first quarter of 2024 saw a remarkable increase in crypto fundraising, totaling $2.4 billion across 518 deals. This represented a 40.3% surge in investments compared to the previous quarter. With heightened on-chain activities in Q4 2023, this growth signifies a significant development for the sector. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC in January has also facilitated institutional investors’ access to cryptocurrencies, marking a positive shift in the market.