Alliance DAO Sees Decline in US Founders Amid Crypto Crackdown

Venture investors are responding by injecting funds into web3 startups, resulting in total fundraising in the space reaching approximately $1.9 billion in Q1, a notable 58% increase from the previous quarter, according to Crunchbase data.

Amid catchphrases like “we are so back” dominating crypto Twitter, regulatory efforts to tame the industry persist. In the US, Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao faces the possibility of becoming the richest individual ever to face imprisonment.

Additionally, Uniswap, known for its decentralized approach to digital assets, received a notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month.

As a consequence, Alliance DAO’s geographic composition is undergoing noticeable changes. According to a graph shared by Qiao Wang, one of the founding partners of Alliance DAO, founders based in North America accounted for 45% of the accelerator’s applicants in H2 2021. However, this share dropped to just 26% in H1 this year.

Indeed, the accelerator has observed increased interest from Asia, which accounted for 24% of all applications in H1 2024, compared to 14% in H2 2021.

However, North America’s declining participation in Alliance DAO does not signify that founders are abandoning their crypto aspirations. Historically, web3 entrepreneurs have demonstrated flexibility, often relocating to emerging markets with more favorable crypto environments.

As reported by TechCrunch, Asia has become a popular destination for crypto entrepreneurs due to its large, tech-savvy population and regulatory frameworks conducive to innovation.

Alliance DAO’s latest cohort, its 12th edition, received 1,503 applications, a significant increase from the previous batch’s 1,083 applications. However, only 21 teams were accepted, resulting in a competitive 1.4% acceptance rate. Twelve of these teams are presenting at the demo day.

The projects featured in this cohort span various sectors, with a focus on Ethereum-based initiatives. However, other ecosystems like Solana and Bitcoin are also gaining traction. Popular verticals include decentralized AI, crypto infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi), and crypto-based payment solutions.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the standout projects from the cohort:

1. Villcaso

• What it does: Enables permissionless U.S. real estate investing.
• Founders: Nathaniel Sokoll-Ward, Val Lee
• Pitch: Villcaso aims to scale and distribute fractional ownership of U.S. real estate to a global audience using a fully legal permissionless token.

2. GoBankless

• What it does: Facilitates cross-border payments in Africa using stablecoins.
• Founders: Ygor Francisco, Khayalethu Mtshali
• Pitch: GoBankless aims to make cross-border payments instant and affordable for businesses in Africa by leveraging stablecoins.

3. Wasabi Protocol

• What it does: Offers a leverage trading protocol.
• Founders: Eren Derman, Kemal Hasan Atay
• Pitch: Wasabi Protocol solves liquidity issues in crypto trading by backing user positions with underlying assets.

4. Lulubit

• What it does: Provides crypto services for Central America.
• Founders: Ianir Sonis, Diego Hernan Cabrera, Alan Futerman
• Pitch: Lulubit allows retail users in Central America to buy, sell, and spend crypto through its platform.

5. ZwapX

• What it does: Operates a marketplace for tokenized watches.
• Founders: Yohan Chiovetta, Noah Chiovetta, Rocco Di Capua
• Pitch: ZwapX allows users to trade physical watches in the form of tokens, providing certificates of ownership and authenticity.

The cohort also includes projects focused on AI, cross-border payments, and tokenizing hedge fund strategies, among others.

Alliance DAO invites various crypto experts to speak to cohorts about their domain knowledge. This time, guest mentors include individuals from Token Relations, Blockworks, Jupiter, Ajna, Story Protocol, Sia, Glow, and Tensor.