Bluesky Raises $15 Million From Crypto Firms—But Says No to Tokens

Bluesky, the social media platform that has seen surging growth following Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, raised $15 million in a funding round led by a crypto-focused venture capital firm, the company announced Thursday.

But that doesn't mean the social media network plans to embrace digital assets.

The Series A funding round was led by Blockchain Capital, a venture firm that has invested in OpenSea, Kraken, and Coinbase. Several other crypto-related venture firms—including SevenX, True Ventures and Alumni Ventures—participated in the funding round, as well.

Nonetheless, the social media startup vowed that it would not “hyperfinancialize” the Bluesky “social experience” by integrating crypto tokens, NFTs, or other blockchain-based technology into its platform. Bluesky is built atop the decentralized AT Protocol.

“This does not change the fact that the Bluesky app and the AT Protocol do not use blockchains or cryptocurrency, and we will not hyperfinancialize the social experience,” Bluesky said in its statement.

Bluesky now has over 13.1 million registered users, according to data shared by a developer, with a few million of those users coming since late August amid controversial moves from the Musk-run Twitter. Of course, Bluesky was originally founded under Twitter, under the earlier leadership of co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, but spun out ahead of Elon Musk's 2022 purchase.

The social media platform plans to use its new capital to support and grow its community, investing in Trust and Safety and boosting its developer ecosystem. It will also pour the funds into developing a subscription model for Bluesky that will give users access to features such as higher-quality video uploads and customizable profile colors and avatar frames.

The company is also considering rolling out micropayments for creators within its community—but those payments will not use crypto, Bluesky clarified.

Edited by Andrew Hayward