2024 Asia Pacific Crypto VCs Research Report by ChainCatcher and Blocktempo

A comprehensive survey of 1,084 Asia Pacific VCs reveals that RootData dominates crypto investment research with 85% adoption rate, while DeFi emerges as the most undervalued category according to 41% of respondents.

Key Data Summary:

• 85% of investors use RootData for investment data queries and project tracking, leading other platforms
• 87% of investors rely on X (formerly Twitter) for industry information
• 75% of investors prioritize project team background and experience
• 41% of investors believe DeFi is currently the most undervalued category
• 42% of investors plan to maintain their current investment pace over the next 4 months

Current State of Crypto VCs — Asia Pacific Edition

As the Crypto industry enters a new development cycle, the Asia Pacific market is rapidly becoming an important component of the global Crypto ecosystem, leveraging its rich resources of developers and investors. To gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics in this key market, ChainCatcher, in collaboration with Taiwan’s leading crypto media platform Blocktempo, conducted a comprehensive survey on the research methods of Asia Pacific Crypto VCs. Ultimately, 1,084 questionnaires were collected, providing valuable first-hand data for understanding the Crypto VCs community.

1. Geographical Distribution of Investors

The survey shows that 28% of respondents are from mainland China, followed by Singapore (25%), Hong Kong (18%), and South Korea (11%), with coverage extending to several Southeast Asian countries. Driven by policies and industry globalization, the number of Asia Pacific Crypto VCs in Singapore and Hong Kong is rapidly increasing.

2. Age Distribution of Investors

Respondents aged 30–39 account for the highest proportion at 44%, followed by 20–29 (32%) and 40+ (20%).

3. Position Distribution

Among the surveyed group, investment managers/researchers make up the largest proportion at 27%, followed by partners (20%), founders (15%), investment directors (10%), executive directors (4%), and others (24%).

4. Investment Types

46% of respondents are from Crypto Venture Capital Funds, 14% from traditional Venture Capital Funds, 12% from Family Offices, 9% from Angel Investors, 3% from Corporate Venture Capital, and 15% from other types.

5. Single Investment Amount

36% of investors make single investments in the $10K-100K range, 32% in the $100K-500K range, 13% in the $500K-1M range, 10% above $1M, and 9% below $10K. The single investment amounts also indicate that the industry is currently in its early development stage.

6. Investment Strategy

48% of investors adopt a mixed primary and secondary market investment strategy, 34% focus on primary market investments, and 18% focus on secondary market investments. This diversified investment strategy reflects the complexity of the current market environment. Due to extended exit cycles, increased exit difficulties, and reduced market innovation, investors are no longer limited to a single market but seek flexible allocation between primary and secondary markets to balance risks and opportunities.

7. Number of Projects Invested

55% of investors invested in 10 or fewer projects this year, 20% invested in 10–20 projects, 11% are observing without investing, 6% invested in 20–30 projects, 4% in 30–40 projects, 2% in 40–50 projects, and 2% in more than 50 projects.

8. Information Acquisition Channels

X (formerly Twitter) is the most popular information channel, chosen by 87% of respondents. This is followed by Telegram (52%), WeChat (31%), Discord (28%), YouTube (17%), media/self-media (16%), podcasts (5%), and RSS (3%).

9. Data Query Platforms

The survey shows that RootData is the most popular investment data query platform with an 85% usage rate, followed by Cryptorank.io (43%) and Crunchbase (32%). RootData’s absolute leading usage rate indicates that it has become the mainstream data tool in the Asia Pacific Crypto investment market.

10. Project Evaluation Factors

Team background and experience (75%), technological innovation (53%), and business model (45%) are the three most valued factors for investors in evaluating projects. Notably, investors are becoming more focused on projects’ “business models,” while the “narrative advantage” factor has undergone a significant demystification process. With the contraction of market liquidity and the significant increase in the difficulty of listing on top centralized exchanges, investors’ focus on projects’ “listing advantages” has also significantly decreased.

11. Investment Research Challenges

Lack of project transparency (61%) and rapid industry changes (43%) are the main research challenges. The industry’s globalization and distributed team characteristics further exacerbate the challenge of “project information opacity.”

12. Due Diligence Tools

X platform (87%), RootData (71%), and LinkedIn (62%) are the most commonly used due diligence tools. Given the uniqueness of the Crypto industry, traditional company databases can no longer better meet the needs for professional, timely, and structured data. RootData has become the market-leading Crypto investment due diligence database.

13. Criteria for Selecting Crypto Categories

62% of investors choose categories by observing narrative/category innovation, 54% focus on funding situations, 36% consider secondary market wealth effects, 26% focus on attractiveness to retail investors or exchanges, and 22% consider portfolio risk resistance/synergy needs. This reflects the crypto market’s high dependence on narratives and category innovation, and attention to capital market heat.

14. Research Analysis Weight

40% of investors believe that research analysis accounts for 40%-60% of the decision-making weight, while only 13% of investors believe that research analysis accounts for less than 20% of the decision-making weight.

15. Undervalued Categories

DeFi (41%), Bitcoin ecosystem (34%), and RWA (32%) are considered the most undervalued categories. In contrast, GameFi and NFT categories, which were once expected to produce killer applications, are no longer viewed as undervalued by investors. After multiple rounds of narrative alternation, investors have once again turned their hopes for industry innovation towards DeFi.

16. Overvalued Categories

Layer1/Layer2 (48%), GameFi (28%), and NFT (25%) are considered overvalued categories, which may be significantly related to the innovation stagnation these categories are facing.

17. Perception of Crypto Innovation

44% of investors believe they haven’t seen significant innovations in the Crypto industry this year, 29% find it difficult to describe, and 27% believe they have seen significant innovations. The perception of the degree of industry innovation may directly affect the activity level of the Crypto primary market.

18. Information Anxiety Levels

39% of investors report significant information anxiety, 34% say their level of information anxiety varies depending on the situation, and 27% report no significant information anxiety. N 40% of investors experiencing significant information anxiety also indicates that the Crypto market is still in a period of rapid development, with many unrefuted innovations still existing in the market.

19. Characteristics of High-Quality Projects

Technological innovation (61%), business model advantages (59%), and team background (54%) are key characteristics of quality projects. Unlike the previous two cycles, “listing advantage” has been replaced by “business model advantage.” Notably, the “product technology delivery capability” characteristic is ranked as one of the least concerned characteristics by Crypto VCs, which is related to the industry being in its stages with significant uncertainties and strong financial attributes.

20. Future Investment Plans

42% of investors plan to maintain their current investment pace over the next 4 months, 27% plan to increase investments, 22% plan to decrease investments, and the remaining few investors (9%) are cautious or uncertain about market prospects, choosing to either find it difficult to judge or stop investing. It’s worth noting that only 31% of investors explicitly express caution or reduced investment attitudes, while more Crypto VCs still express optimism, which may drive a cyclical recovery and prosperity in the Crypto primary market in Q4.

Summary

This survey comprehensively reflects the current state and trends of cryptocurrency investment in the Asia Pacific region, revealing that the industry is in a critical transition period. Investors are adapting to a complex and changing market environment, as evidenced by their investment strategies, information acquisition methods, and decision-making processes. The data shows that most investors are taking a cautious approach, leaning towards small investments and diversified strategies, while highly valuing team background, technological innovation, and business models. This balanced approach reflects market uncertainty and investors’ demand for investment stability.

Combined with RootData’s Q3 2024 quarterly report, despite Bitcoin prices exhibiting high-level wide-range fluctuations, Crypto primary market funding activities showed a declining trend. Q3 saw a total of 321 funding events, a 25.69% quarter-on-quarter decrease, with a total funding amount of $2.406 billion, down 15.04% quarter-on-quarter, reflecting investors adopting more cautious strategies in the face of market uncertainties. Meanwhile, investors’ optimism about certain categories (such as DeFi and Bitcoin ecosystem) and caution towards others (such as Layer1/Layer2) reflect that the market is reassessing the potential of specific categories.

The current market still faces multi-factor challenges, including the impact of macroeconomic monetary policies, narrowing of listing channels on leading exchanges, MemeCoin capturing limited market liquidity, and primary market investors encountering “FUD” (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). These factors collectively shape the landscape of the current early-stage Crypto investment market. Investors need to find a new balance between risks and opportunities.

Disclaimer: The data for this survey was collected from August 26 to September 26, 2024. All data is for research purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. Investors should bear their own investment risks. ChainCatcher reserves the final right of interpretation for this report.