Crypto VC Funding Skyrockets to $40B in 2025, Shattering Two-Year Slump
The crypto winter is officially over—and venture capitalists just poured gasoline on the fire.
The Comeback No One Saw Coming
After a brutal two-year drought, institutional money is flooding back into blockchain startups. We're talking a funding surge so sharp it makes traditional market rebounds look like a flatline. The smart money isn't just dipping a toe—it's diving headfirst into DeFi protocols, next-gen infrastructure, and tokenization plays that promise to reshape finance.
Where the Billions Are Flowing
Forget the speculative nonsense of cycles past. This capital wave targets real utility: scaling solutions that actually work, privacy tech that regulators can't touch, and decentralized applications with user bases bigger than some small countries. The narrative shifted from 'get rich quick' to 'build something lasting'—and VCs finally got the memo.
The Institutional Stampede
Traditional finance giants, once content to watch from the sidelines, are now writing checks with multiple zeros. They're not just investing; they're acquiring, partnering, and building internal crypto divisions at breakneck speed. The fear of missing out has evolved into the terror of being obsolete.
So while Wall Street analysts debate quarterly earnings, crypto founders are busy deploying nearly $40 billion to rebuild the financial system from the ground up. The future of money isn't coming—it just got another massive round of funding.
In 2025, VC funding led to larger rounds and high-profile deals, though a smaller number of overall raises, as funds became more selective. | Source: Cryptorank
Based on monthly raises reported by Cryptorank, 2025 reached total funding of $39.95B, up from between $11.5 to $13.5B for 2024. Funding in the past year broke out of the years-long bear market, which still affected funds between 2022 and 2024.
Crypto fundraising had fewer rounds for higher value
In 2025, the structure of fundraising shifted, with fewer deals of higher value. Projects moved onto late-stage rounds, while seed rounds for new tokens diminished. Seed rounds only made up about 16% of all deals, down from 28% on average. Undisclosed rounds or late-stage funding dominated.
The past year saw the biggest raises since 2023 in terms of the size of rounds, but much fewer deals were completed. The fundraising landscape was more conservative, as the market did not have enough demand for new tokens.
The year’s activity ranged from 152 deals in January, down to 82 deals in December. The last month of 2025 was the third-weakest in terms of funding and deal activity.
The USA and international deals were the most numerous, with $16.14B in undisclosed location rounds and $10.54B in US-based deals. Malta and Singapore were also major VC funding locations, followed by Australia and the UK.
Coinbase Ventures was the most active fund in 2025, closing 87 deals. Animoca Brands completed 52 deals, while Binance’s YziLabs closed 40 deals.
Angel investors’ rankings in 2025 were led by Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon) with 53 deals, Paul Taylor with 47 deals, and Solana’s Anatoly Yakovenko with 44 deals.
Funding switched to infrastructure projects
The fundraising in 2025 tracked the shifting crypto landscape. Funds almost abandoned GameFi and NFT projects, instead switching to on-chain infrastructure.
DeFi was one of the solid sectors with ongoing allocations. In the short term, AI projects still dominate funding rounds. Binance Alpha projects are also among the top rounds, mostly driven by the curation of YziLabs.
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization gained focus among VC funds after becoming one of the most successful narratives in 2025. Payment services are also gaining prominence, accounting for over 25% of deals in December.
In 2025, VC funds and angel investors became more pragmatic, searching for projects with a viable product. Fewer new platforms emerged, especially new chains, as the crypto market showed over-saturation.
Outside VC funding, ICO and IDO activity remained robust, with a wider variety of projects. IDO and ICO deals passed the peak of the 2021 bull market, driven by raises on Solana, as well as BNB Chain launches through Binance Wallet. IDO sales through a launchpad were the most common model in 2025.
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