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Cryptocurrency-related start-ups are cashing in hundreds of millions of dollars despite the cryptocurrency market crash. 

Several private firms announced raising hundreds of millions of dollars in January. For instance, crypto exchange FTX and its U.S. affiliate raised a combined $800 million, raising the value of the companies at $32 billion and $8 billion respectively. 

Meanwhile, Fireblocks — a crypto infrastructure start-up — raised a mouthwatering $550 million valuing the company at $8 billion. Its rival Blockdaemon secured $155 million on a $1.3 billion valuation. It’s important to note, however, that several negotiations of the deals started late last year.

The news came amid a major crypto crash that resulted in heavy losses to traders. For instance, Bitcoin plunged by nearly 50% from its all-time high price of $69,000 that the digital token reached in November 2021. Altcoins on the other hand saw a bloodbath as several metaverses and play-to-earn related cryptos shed 90 percentage points of their value.

The market crash wiped most of the gains that cryptocurrencies accumulated during 2021. Still, blockchain start-ups raised a record $25 billion in 2021, and the figure seems like it’s going to grow even more in 2022. 

“If we are entering ‘crypto winter,’ it’s unlike the bear markets we’ve seen before,” said Konstantin Richter, CEO, and founder of Blockdaemon. “The crypto market today has institutional adoption. They see the promising crypto holds. Many institutions are long-term bullish on the tech.”

“We could head towards a crypto winter — and I think, honestly with any market, that’s not a terrible thing,” he added.