According to a report from venture capital firm Lattice Fund, more than 80% of startups that raised funding in 2022 are still active, despite the high-profile bankruptcies of several crypto lenders.

Analysts found that of the 1,200 cryptocurrency startups that attracted investments totaling $5 billion in 2022, 76% managed to launch a product on the main network, and 18.5% suspended operations or announced closure. At the same time, only 1.5% of startups managed to create a product that corresponds to the market, and only 12% of projects were able to conduct additional rounds of financing.

The most successful sectors for crypto investments have been infrastructure creation and centralized finance (CeFi). About 80% of CeFi crypto startups and 78% of infrastructure projects have launched products on the main network. The researchers noted that games and metaverses were nothing more than hype – they turned out to be the worst-performing sectors in the crypto space.

“Chasing big stories can get you down. The initial investment in blockchain games amounted to $700 million, but games and metaverses have not shown much activity in most cases. It never came to the development of the promised products,” commented Regan Bozman, co-founder of the Lattice Fund.

Ethereum remains the most preferred layer 1 blockchain for launching new projects, while Bitcoin-based startups have proven to be the most resilient. $1.4 billion was invested in 314 Ethereum-based projects, and 18% of these cryptocurrency platforms failed. Meanwhile, all 18 Bitcoin startups that raised funds in 2022 are still active and growing.

The researchers noted that $350 million was invested in 87 Solana-based startups. However, due to the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and the sharp fall of the SOL coin, 26% of projects were unable to survive until 2024. As for the services created on the basis of the Near, StarkNet and Flow networks, the matter did not reach subsequent rounds of financing.

The Lattice Fund suggested that “vintage crypto projects of 2022” are technically in a difficult position. Investors have shifted their focus to hot sectors: DePIN (decentralized physical infrastructure networks) and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the Base and Monad ecosystems. Analysts concluded that the profitability of crypto projects depends not on the pursuit of what is popular now, but on what will be popular in 1-2 years.

According to a February study by AlphaQuest and Storible, of the 12,343 cryptoassets listed on CoinMarketCap, more than 8,850 failed and will cease to exist in 2023.