Top crypto unicorns in 2024

What is a unicorn company?

A unicorn startup in the venture capital (VC) industry refers to a private firm that has obtained a total valuation over $1 billion. To become a unicorn, a company should have an innovative and marketable idea and the ability to successfully pitch the idea to investors. 

The term itself was coined in the early 2010s by Aileen Lee, a venture capitalist and the founder of Palo Alto-based Cowboy Ventures. Lee reviewed software startups in the 200s and found out that only 0.07% of them ever managed to reach a $1 billion valuation. 

So, why the term unicorn? As Lee said, unicorns represent something magical, and a lot of things must come together for magic to happen.  

Many companies are led by smart people and have great products and services, but they still don’t manage to reach the $1 billion threshold. Finding a startup that can reach this threshold is like finding a mythical unicorn. 

Unicorn companies defy traditional growth metrics by entering the market rapidly and taking over the market by experiencing exponential growth. 

However, not everything is always magical around unicorns. In the past decade there were startups with value based more on hype or even fraud than on fundamentals.  

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The rising trend of unicorns in the tight venture capital market

Venture capital funding is mainly responsible for the creation of unicorn companies. It refers to capital that is raised by startup companies and mainly comes in the form of financial, managerial or technical assistance. 

Funding typically stems from individual investors, groups of investors, investment banks or similar financial institutions. For the exchange of capital, investors usually gain equity.  

Thereby, venture capital funding became a common way for investors and institutions to invest in new companies and ideas, looking for startups with the most growth potential. 

Unicorns can be mostly found within three industries: technology and telecommunications, finance and insurance as well as the transportation and logistics industry. The home to most unicorns today is the United States. 

Can there be too many unicorns?

The venture capital industry is currently facing certain macroeconomic challenges such as a tight monetary policy, inflation and high interest rates. So, the whole venture funding environment just got a little bit tougher. In other words, venture funding has cooled down compared to the 2021 bubble. 

There is something called the unicorn backlog; in the past ten years, the number of private firms with valuations over $1 billion has expanded tremendously.  

Even though this can be a sign of a successful startup system, there isn’t a healthy market with too many unicorns. Instead of many successful companies, no there are many companies unable to exit. The number of unicorns surpassed the number of viable exits. 

The unicorn backlog is not the end of the world or a real market disaster- it just presents a warning for both founders and investors. Investors need to be more realistic and selective regarding unicorn valuations, while founders should focus on creating a sustainable business model that can survive market downturns. 

What does the 2024 unicorn landscape indicate about the future of technology?

According to recent research, the year 2024 has seen 72 companies gain the unicorn status and 32 of them have products related to artificial intelligence (AI). In other words, AI players are gaining the unicorn status faster than non-AI startups in the past couple of years.  

However, the market and valuations are currently performing under pressure since it is estimated that over one-third of current unicorns haven’t raised funding. Among already established unicorn companies, there are approximately 100 companies with probabilities to gain the unicorn status. 

On the other hand, experts acknowledged that AI infrastructure could be the foundation of the next era of companies, especially regarding those firms that are scaling at a fast pace. With more startups using artificial intelligence for product development and services provided, new unicorn startups are expected to emerge. 

At the moment both venture capitalists and early-stage investors watch for novel AI applications and companies that could capitalise on network effects. The whole AI market is in the spotlight with regulatory developments going on in the European Union and the United States. 

What about blockchain technology unicorns?

Recently, a leading blockchain venture fund and co-investor program called Blockchain Coinvestors presented the industry’s current list of blockchain unicorns, including private companies and tokenized crypto projects. 

The presentation acknowledged that the U.S. economy just went pro-crypto, announcing the possibility of a new thriving landscape for digital assets. 

According to the report, blockchain undertakings and tokenized crypto project unicorns comprise more than 17% of the world’s unicorn companies. There are 111 enterprise unicorns, 126 crypto project unicorns and 29 publicly traded blockchain technology companies. 

North America is the main house of blockchain unicorns, followed by Asia and Europe in the second and third place. 

What does this report tell us about the future of blockchain technology unicorns? Well, the fact that nearly one in five unicorn companies at a global level leverages blockchain technology as its main products tells us that blockchain adoption is now at a crucial point. Something that was considered niche is now being widely accepted by users, individual and institutional investors.

What are some top crypto unicorns this year?

The blockchain sector has gained the spotlight in terms of tech narratives recently. Let's take a look at the 2024 top unicorn undertakings in the blockchain and crypto space.

Binance

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency trading platform by volume, leads this list with a valuation of over $100 billion.

This cryptocurrency exchange was founded back in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. It provides a large platform for trading a wide array of digital assets and it is known for its extensive provision of services.

Coinbase

On the second place we have Coinbase, a U.S.-based crypto exchange valued at $85 billion in 2024. It was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and today it provides a broad platform for trading and storing crypto assets.  

The platform was publicly listed on Nasdaq three years ago which marked an important milestone for the entire blockchain industry.

Ripple

Ripple is a blockchain technology firm that specialises in global payments. In 2024 it is valued at $50 billion. The company’s native digital asset is called XRP, and its main services revolve around fast and low-cost international transactions. 

BlockFi

This crypto lending and borrowing platform is currently valued at $45 billion and provides users with a wide range of financial products, crypto-backed loans and trading services.  

The company’s main objective is to bring the crypto market and the traditional financial system together to offer greater financial flexibility, accessibility and more options for users.

Chainanalysis

Chainanalysis is a blockchain technology analysis firm valued at $40 billion. Its main services include the provision of data and analysis services to crypto exchanges, financial institutions and government agencies to enhance security and ensure a higher level of regulatory compliance. 

OpenSea

The unicorn of the NFT space is valued at $38 billion. OpenSea is known as the biggest marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and provides an ecosystem where users can trade a wide array of digital assets such as collectibles, digital art and even virtual pieces of real estate.  

Circle

The financial tech company Circle is valued at $32 billion in 2024. The company is focused on providing online financial services and it is the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. 

If you are a frequent reader, you probably remember the article mentioning Circle: 'Hunting down securities: Are stablecoins standing outside the securities' circle?'.

A few new players on the crypto scene

As you can see, all the above-mentioned companies are valued way over the $1 billion threshold and present already established players in the crypto market. Let's take a look at some new unicorns this year.

Monad Labs

Monad Labs is a blockchain company valued currently at $3 billion. In April 2024 it managed to raise a $225 million Series A which brought the company to the $3 billion mark.

So far it has raised millions of dollars from multiple investors, including the Artichoke Capital and the Amber Group. Monad Labs is working on creating a faster version of the Ethereum blockchain. 

FarCaster

FarCaster is an open-source social media startup based on blockchain technology. It is valued at $1 billion currently after managing to close a $150 million series A led by Paradigm. This startup is mainly backed by Union Square Ventures and so far it has raised more than $180 million in funding to date. 

EigenLayer

The novel blockchain project for Ethereum called staking includes utilising Ether tokens as security. EigenLayer was launched back in 2021 and managed to pick up $100 million Series B and achieve the $1 billion post money valuation. So far, EigenLayer has raised more than $160 million in venture funding, mainly by Apollo Crypto and Blockchain Capital.