Bluesky, a decentralized social network on the open-source AT Protocol, has raised $100M in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Crypto. The platform offers users control over feeds, moderation, and account portability. The capital will build the future of the open social web without compromising mission and values.
Crypto VCs Back Open Protocols
The round closed in April 2025 but was disclosed in March 2026 amid leadership changes. It follows a $15M Series A and $8M seed. Farcaster raised $180M+ including $150M at $1B valuation in 2024, signaling investor interest in decentralized social. Bluesky's AT Protocol provides seamless decentralization without crypto complexity.
Centralized Control Drives Exodus
Users increasingly reject centralized platforms' censorship and algorithms. Post-2022 X changes accelerated alternatives. Bluesky grew from 13M users in October 2024 to 43M, with 2.6M new Brazilian users in days and 38M total reported recently. The $234B social media market grows at 12.6% CAGR per Research and Markets.
AT Protocol Enables User Power
Bluesky's AT Protocol supports portable accounts, custom algorithmic feeds, and composable moderation. Over 40k custom feeds exist, with 400k SDK downloads monthly and 1,000+ apps built weekly. The Atmosphere network holds 20B public records and 2.4B posts across 40M+ users. Unlike Mastodon's fragmented federation or [Threads']](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bluesky-514d) Meta control, it offers a unified app experience.
As COO Rose Wang noted in a recent interview:
"Elon Musk taking over Twitter is exactly the reason why Bluesky needs to exist… overnight one person can completely turn around a culture…"
Returning Investors Signal Scale
Bain Capital Crypto leads with focus on open internet infrastructure, joining prior backers Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Anthos Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and Knight Foundation. Their involvement validates commercial potential beyond 76 employees and 13M+ users at Series A. Crypto infra expertise aids protocol scalability.
Decentralized Networks Gain Traction
The social media market stands at $234B with 12.6% CAGR. Mastodon relies on €545K donations in 2023, while Threads leverages Meta's scale. Bluesky's Public Benefit Corporation structure prevents acquisition, with open patent pledge. Developer ecosystem thrives: thousands of apps weekly.
Social Vets Lead Platform Push
CEO Jay Graber, formerly at Zcash and founder of social network Happening, transitions to Chief Innovation Officer. Head of Product Alex Benzer grew Medium revenue 35% ARR post-Knowable acquisition. Head of Trust and Safety Aaron R scaled Twitter's team 3x; Head of Legal Matt Reeder was CLO at OnlyFans ($6.6B revenue). Recent C-level hires signal scaling.
As Jay Graber previously stated:
"the term Web3 got very associated with cryptocurrency… But if you think about Web3 as evolving the social Web 2.0, that kind of is what we’re doing."
Publisher Tools Fuel Expansion
Recent Hootsuite integration enables scheduling and analytics. Improved referral tracking aids publishers with higher engagement than legacy platforms. High-profile joins like President Obama and BART's alerts channel show adoption. Funding supports ecosystem growth amid 38M users.