Website 3 Startups Flock to Accelerator as Crypto Enthusiasm Grows

Amid renewed enthusiasm for cryptocurrency startups, some Web3 startups are looking to take advantage of accelerator programs.

Accelerator programs offer founders mentorship and guidance in return for early equity. San Francisco-based Y Combinator is popular, boasting several crypto companies such as Coinbase and OpenSea among its alumni.

This week, a16z, a leading tech VC fund, revealed its spring 2024 crypto startup accelerator lineup. The 25 selected startups will undergo a ten-week mentoring program in London led by the a16z crypto team.

Colleague Jason Rosenthal shared projects involving Farcaster infrastructure, decentralized food delivery, and zero-knowledge passport authentication. Startups in a16z crypto's accelerator get $500K from a16z for 7% equity. Alumni include Flashbots and Phantom.

Earlier this week, the organization behind the Layer-1 blockchain Avalanche introduced the first group of startups in its Codebase exclusive accelerator. Reserved for startups building on Avalanche, this accelerator is a decentralized venture capital fund focused on AVAX by Colony Lab that will see investments ranging from $500,000 to $1 million per startup.

Web3 game infrastructure company Helica has announced that it will partner with Pantera, Spartan Capital, Sphermion and other venture capital firms to allocate up to $50 million to startups participating in the newly formed Game Accelerator.

Related: Paradigm funding takes Farcaster's dev to unicorn status

Crypto-native venture firm 1kx announced an oversubscribed $75 million funding round amid a resurgence of venture capital activity in the cryptosphere, while Hack VC completed a $150 million round last month.

Sam Lehman, principal at Symbolic Capital, emphasized that strong crypto accelerators play a vital role in fostering community among founders in the network-centric Web3 sphere.

Lehman highlighted the growth of new crypto accelerators designed by funds looking to grow their brand and deploy capital quickly. However, he warned of possible predatory behavior among some expeditors. Lehman wrote:

“Some accelerators are taking advantage of their early stage investments and the ‘value add' they've designed to immediately take very large positions in companies. Founders should definitely think twice about whether the terms they receive from an accelerator are worth the value they get in return.

Investment activity in Web3 games has recently increased in volume and frequency. A notable example is 0G Labs, a $35 million pre-seed funding round on March 25. The round received the participation of more than 40 crypto-native institutions, including Hack VC and Blockchain Builders Fund.

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