Why these 30 web3 founders are optimistic about 2024

The crypto winter may or may not thaw, but not everyone is going into the new year without hope: A majority of founders are optimistic about the opportunities for crypto startups in 2024, per a new survey shared exclusively with TechCrunch+.

The CoinFund Founder Forecast survey gathered responses from 30 of CoinFund’s web3 portfolio companies across the pre-seed, seed and Series A stages. The survey ran from November 7 to November 17, when cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum were starting to show signs of price recovery.

While some crypto startups may be going out of business, Alex Felix, managing partner and chief investment officer at CoinFund, said these 30 companies have sufficient runway and are thinking about the new year. “The one thing that was so different about this bear market is the resolve to keep going and not let price action or media cloud the vision,” Felix said. A lot of the issues we saw during this crypto downturn were the result of human errors or poor governance, which “reignited the spirit to build,” he added.

According to the survey, the top areas primed for growth in the coming year include AI integrated with web3, zero-knowledge technology, decentralized finance, consumer apps, gaming, layer-2 blockchains and crypto wallets.