Bitcoin Startups Going Big: 🦄 Over $1.1 Billion Raised
Bitcoin-focused startups have raised some serious funding and show more resilience to downturns than their crypto counterparts.
Despite market shocks, Bitcoin businesses are making progress.
Bitcoin startups have raised over 1.1 billion from 2021 to 2024
Merchant payment giant Square hints at Bitcoin integration
GameStop looks to join the growing “Bitcoin on the Balance Sheet” trend
MasterCard introduces a Kraken partnership and is building a “Venmo for Crypto”
Looking for a laugh? Check out our Bitcoin meme of the week at the back of the Roundup! 😁
Find it all here, and thanks from the Velas Team!
Bitcoin Startups Going Big: 🦄 Over $1.1 Billion Raised
Research from TVP (Trammel Venture Partners), a VC fund that specializes in early-stage Bitcoin startup investment, shows that funding growth of Bitcoin startups has seen strong growth.
TVP found that over $1.1 Billion has been invested in “Bitcoin-native” startups in the three year period between 2021 and 2024, and that this growth has happened against the backdrop of a decline in funding for other crypto projects.
The research also discounted Bitcoin mining businesses to ensure that they captured data applicable to early-stage products.
Seems like a hopeful signal amidst recent global market turmoil.
This Bitcoin Magazine article has lots more info from TVP.
Read it here:
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/bitcoin-startups-raised-nearly-1-2-billion
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Square hints at Bitcoin Integration for Merchant terminals
This news was a close runner-up for this edition of the Roundup. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Square, announced that the payments giant is “actively working” on integrating bitcoin payments into the company’s merchant terminals.
According to Square, there are over four million merchants using Square around the world. Square also focuses on entrepreneurs and small businesses—exactly the type of organizations most likely to accept bitcoin—according to a recent study by CoinCorner (linked below).
Put all that together, and these could be early signs of one of the biggest and most impactful bitcoin integrations ever.
Check out the announcement and interview summary here:
The CoinCorner report - definitely worth reading if you missed it - is here:
https://blog.coincorner.com/report-bitcoin-on-the-balance-sheet-ba754e3fa6b6
GameStop Joins the “Bitcoin on the Balance Sheet” Strategy
GameStop returns to the bitcoin radar after announcing plans to raise $ 1.3 billion USD that will be invested in bitcoin.
The company joins a growing group of businesses that see “Bitcoin on the Balance Sheet” as an important business investment strategy.
Getting large companies like GameStop invested in bitcoin seems like an important first step in a journey that has often been described for individuals, but is only now becoming more common in the world of large business.
For example, “leveling up” in bitcoin as an individual can often start with buying bitcoin from an exchange or stock in a bitcoin-native company. Later, as this person gains knowledge in Bitcoin, they learn self-custody, run their own node, and incorporate bitcoin payments into their business and daily life.
We see the same storyline play out quickly in small, nimble businesses but in large organizations like GameStop, this process will likely take time.
Getting bitcoin on the balance sheet seems like a great first step.
Read more here:
Mastercard announces a Kraken Partnership and the “Venmo for Crypto”
Mastercard has a pair of stories on our Bitcoin Commerce list, with a recent announcement of a payments partnership with Kraken as part of an overall strategy of becoming the “Venmo for Crypto”.
The newly announced Kraken partnership aims to allow users in the UK and Europe to spend bitcoin using a traditional debit card that would, presumably, draw from a balance on the exchange.
The move seems to be another step towards their strategy of making crypto payments as easy as using payment apps like Venmo or Cash App.
More info on both stories here:
https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2025/04/02/mastercard-wants-to-become-the-venmo-of-crypto-heres-how/
And our Bitcoin Commerce meme of the week.............🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
👷Looking for funding for an open source Bitcoin project?
Check out our list of grants available that specialize in funding open source development for Bitcoin projects. Know a grant that’s not on the list? Let us know at engineering@velascommerce.com.
⚡Watch this Space - Guide to Edge Nodes Coming Soon
We’re hard at work building a Taproot Assets Edge Node - which can send assets like stablecoins on the Bitcoin Lightning Network and also exchange them automatically for bitcoin. Watch this space - full guide coming soon.
💻 OpenSats announces the 10th wave of bitcoin grants
Check out all 6 projects awarded grants from OpenSats. If you’re building open source projects in bitcoin read this. More here.