Tampa's blockchain investors eye bounceback after crypto winter

When Forbes dubbed Tampa the nation's top emerging tech city in 2021, the momentum for its blockchain and crypto startups seemed unstoppable.

Flashback: Blockchain startup incubator BlockSpaces and one of its prodigies, Michael O'Rourke of Pocket Network, called Tampa the " blockchain capital you haven't heard of yet ."

• But after a cold crypto winter and with several high - profile scams marring the industry — including the downfall of Tampa-based Celsius — founders like O'Rourke are just starting to regain that momentum.

The big picture: Crypto venture capitalists are warming the market back up, investing $2.5 billion globally in startups this past quarter .

• The fourth halving — an event that reduces new bitcoin supply — hit last month, with big returns forecasted for investors in about a year.

Zoom in: After O'Rourke laid off 75% of Pocket's staff last year, its first equity sale raised $7.35 million.

• He's now looking to expand outside of Tampa Bay and plans to launch an upgrade with AI integration to Pocket in the summer.
• BlockSpaces also had to thin out its staff to get through the bear market. The company switched from incubating startups to building its own institutional fintech solutions with Bitcoin.

What they're saying: Chris Pizzo, founding partner of early-stage venture capital fund Druid Ventures, still believes Tampa Bay is the blockchain hub of the future.

• He told Axios he's planning to raise a second fund later this year, after raising a $13 million round two years ago.
• "People are getting priced out of Miami, and unless you're a megafund, you can't really live there," Pizzo told Axios. "We think it's a great time to catch that ride up, invest early. A dedicated fund here will give us a real chance of making a nice hub."

What's next: "The regulatory environment is quite hostile right now in the U.S.," O'Rourke said. "The next president will dictate the future environment."

Go Deeper: Get more insights from the pros with Axios Crypto .

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Druid Ventures raised $13 million in its first round of funding in 2022. It did not raise a $30 million Series B funding round last year.