Amid rising gloom, are VCs reluctant to fund Indian crypto players?

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

crypto market is in a tight bear hug and market mavens believe that crypto winter is likely to last longer than what was expected. The gloom in the crypto market has turned firms operating in the space risk aversive. Many of them are looking to trim their payroll size in order to conserve funds amid a freefall in the digital token market. Not only this, even stringent taxations and regulatory frameworks are hurting crypto players. The pessimism has affected deal size and volumes in the crypto industry.

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Market experts are divided on the future funding of the industry as they believe that the crypto industry is very nascent and its journey has remained turbulent. Short-term pain, however, is unavoidable, they add. Arvind Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of C4D Partners said despite unclear regulations in India, venture capitalists (VCs) heavily funded crypto startups. In Q1 of 2022, VCs invested more than $10 billion, the highest in a quarter. «Even in the longer run, VCs have been funding crypto startups on the back of rising retail interest in India. India has the potential to become a leader in the crypto ecosystem. If the growth rebounds, VCs would be willing to fund,» he added. However, not everyone agrees on this. Other experts believe that funding activities are likely to slow down and valuations of the crypto players may take a hit. Though, they see enough potential for Web 3.0 space. Vineet Budki, Managing Partner & CEO, Cypher Capital believes investing in later-stage startups may slow down due to a liquidity crunch in the market. «However, early-stage