Where is crypto VC money flowing in 2025? Analyzing funding trends across 6,700+ rounds
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Where is crypto VC money flowing in 2025? Analyzing funding trends across 6,700+ rounds
Prediction markets and RWA lead the way, NFTs cool off, stablecoins rise, and the industry告别s its wild growth phase.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: Dudu Bitcoin
Translated by: Saoirse, Foresight News
In 2025, the crypto fundraising rebound was as powerful and consistent as Dennis Rodman in his prime.
Total funding for the year reached $25 billion—making it the second-highest on record, trailing only the frenzy of 2021.
But there’s one crucial difference this time:
Today's fundraising momentum is actually more sustainable.
To understand where the money is flowing, I spent weeks analyzing 6,723 funding rounds.
Winning Sectors: Prediction Markets, AI Storage, and RWA
Prediction markets emerged as the biggest winner—an outcome that isn’t surprising.
For prediction markets, 2025 was a banner year—the only Web3 sector to successfully capture mainstream consumer attention.
Polymarket and Kalshi are locked in fierce competition, both aggressively pursuing top-tier partnerships.
Today, prediction markets are embedded within Google Search and major media outlets, becoming increasingly integrated into everyday life.
Meanwhile, real-world assets (RWA) and cybersecurity rising to the top of funding priorities underscores a key point: crypto is maturing, solidifying its role as a foundational component of the financial system.
However, for founders focused on NFT development, this year has been far from kind.
Seed Funding Is Coming of Age
The era when small seed rounds could launch a project is long gone. In the age of AI, building a product people use requires significantly fewer resources. This means founders can remain bootstrapped much longer—only entering the fundraising arena once they have tangible results to show.
Advice: Prioritize Partnerships with Coinbase Ventures
I’ve seen too many so-called “VC connectors”—middlemen who introduce founders to investors but take a commission. More importantly, most of them only know tier-three funds. For founders, the time investment simply isn’t worth it. Aim instead for those who can connect you with top-tier players like Coinbase Ventures—not niche outfits like the “Soulja Boy Fund.”
Crypto Is Maturing
Looking at the largest-funded projects this year, the trend is clear.
Of course, crypto still retains some of its "speculative energy":
- Binance: Raised massive capital from the UAE to build a premier altcoin trading platform;
- Pump.fun: Set records for memes coin issuance per second;
- TON: Gained significant traction leveraging Telegram’s widespread adoption in crypto;
- Monad: Built strong community hype around its L1 chain, though its TGE ultimately underperformed.
Every market cycle needs some excitement—but step back from the short-term noise, and the maturation of crypto becomes unmistakable.
Among the year’s largest funding rounds, two came from prediction markets—Polymarket and Kalshi.
As previously noted, 2025 was a breakout year for prediction markets, the only Web3 sector to genuinely attract mainstream users. Polymarket and Kalshi continue battling for dominance, securing high-profile partners, with their services now integrated into Google Search and major news platforms.
Stablecoins also shone brightly in 2025:
- Bullish: Co-founded by Brendan Blumer, formerly known for the controversial EOS project, raised $1 billion through an IPO;
- Ripple: Successfully attracted Wall Street capital into the stablecoin space;
- Circle: Raised $1 billion via IPO, followed by a strong post-listing stock surge;
- Payment giant Stripe: Launched its L1 blockchain "Tempo," signaling fintech giants are actively entering crypto;
- Figure: Closed a $1 billion IPO, focused on stablecoin-related infrastructure.
Finally, crypto exchanges Kraken and Gemini also completed funding rounds—likely their last before potential IPOs.
The four aforementioned "speculative" projects raised approximately $3.27 billion combined;
Prediction markets raised $3 billion;
And Web3 projects in more mature sectors raised $3.4 billion.
Today’s crypto landscape is no longer defined by a single identity.
It is splitting into three parallel tracks:
- Speculation & Culture (e.g., meme coins, niche blockchains);
- Information & Truth Markets (centered on prediction markets);
- Real-World Financial Infrastructure (e.g., stablecoins, RWA).
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