Crypto media firm Decrypt raises $10 million after ConsenSys Mesh spin-out

Crypto media publication Decrypt has raised $10 million in a Series A round at a $50 million valuation.

The new funding came from 22 organizations, with no leading investor, in a bid to become a “truly independent news organization,” the company announced Tuesday.

Decrypt was previously owned by blockchain incubator ConsenSys Mesh, which was created in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. The publication was spun out from ConsenSys Mesh prior to the funding round. 

The list of new investors includes venture capital firms Canvas Ventures, Hack.vc, Hashkey Capital, IOSG Group Limited, SKH Group and XBTO Humla Ventures, as well as a group of angel investors, strategic partners and DAOs like Global Coin Research DAO and Honey DAO. ConsenSys Inc will stay on board as a minority investor.

“It’s an extremely tribal world of crypto (…) Being actually independent is very different than knowing we are 100% paid for by ConsenSys (Mesh),” Decrypt CEO and co-founder Josh Quittner told Axios, which first broke the story.

The company plans to use the funds to grow its news team and expand its web3-related project pubDAO. In 2021, Decrypt brought in $1 million in revenue, and this year it expects to grow that number to $5 million, per Axios.

Decrypt Studios currently has 25 full-time employees and draws in around 5 million readers every month, according to the company.