Research: Crypto projects favor token launches over Series A as a 'graduation path'

CryptoRank’s analysis of 3,757 early-stage crypto projects found many favored launching a token over raising a Series A round as a “graduation path,” according to U.Today. Among the projects tracked by CryptoRank, only 588, or 15.7%, went on to raise a Series A round. The median time from initial fundraising to reaching Series A was 15 months. By contrast, 1,152 projects, or 30.7%, launched a token, and 974 of them did so without raising a Series A round. Only 178 projects, or 4.7% of the total, achieved both a Series A raise and a token launch. CryptoRank said token launches and Series A rounds for crypto projects are closer to alternative “graduation paths” than to the sequential growth stages typical of conventional startups, suggesting many early-stage projects are trying to “graduate” through token issuance rather than moving through traditional venture funding stages.