Venture capitalists are once again showing strong interest in the crypto space, injecting liquidity and exploring alternative funding methods for startups. This renewed enthusiasm has given rise to creative approaches like grants and node sales, providing startups with more avenues to secure funding.

One notable example is Seamless, a Base-native lending platform that has partnered with layer-3 Degen Chain and semi-fungible token protocol Pandora. Together, they are set to distribute nearly $600,000 in grants to creators and developers working on Base. Degen Chain focuses on developers keen to build within its ecosystem, while Pandora targets creators interested in ERC-404 technology for their collections and memecoins.

Ras, a pseudonymous member of the Seamless Community Grants Program, emphasized the community-driven evaluation process for grant applications. This approach ensures that the grants are directed towards projects that genuinely uplift the relevant ecosystems. The call for innovative and useful ideas is open, and new grant submissions can be made through the Community Governance forum.

SingularityNET is also gearing up for its Deep Funding Round 4, expected to roll out in early May. This round aims to allocate over $1 million in capital for decentralized artificial intelligence initiatives, further expanding the funding opportunities in the crypto space.

The funding environment for crypto startups appears increasingly welcoming. Investment in crypto firms surged by 38% in the first quarter of 2024, with a 49% increase in the number of projects receiving funding - the highest since Q4 2021. In March alone, investments totaled over $1.1 billion across 180 crypto-related projects, marking a 52.5% month-on-month increase. The majority of these funds were directed towards infrastructure and decentralized finance projects.

Recent highlights include Monad Labs securing $225 million in a round led by Paradigm, and Auradine, a crypto mining hardware provider, completing a Series B funding round worth $80 million. These developments underscore the robust growth and increasing investor confidence in the crypto startup ecosystem.