Thanks to a flood of early-stage investments into blockchain-related ventures in March, funding for crypto companies hit its highest mark in 18 months. 

New funding for crypto companies totaled more than $1.4 billion, according to The Block Deals Dashboard. That makes March the best month since September 2022, when the sector raked in more than $2 billion in funding.

March was a banner month, in part, because of a surge in early-stage, or Series A, investments, according to John Dantoni, The Block Research Director. There were more than 20 early-stage investments during the month, a massive jump from February, which had nine such investments, matching the monthly average for the past year, according to Dantoni.

The increase in funding for the sector has coincided with a rise in …