H1 Crypto Funding: Key Trends and Insights

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The first half of 2025 was a turning point for crypto venture funding. After two years of tighter capital and investor caution, funding came roaring back. By June 30, disclosed crypto funding had surpassed $37B, with more than 150 tracked deals across seed, Series A–C, strategic rounds, and IPOs. This signals that institutional and venture capital confidence in the sector has returned in force, despite regulatory uncertainties and persistent volatility in token prices.

Key Takeaways:

• Disclosed crypto funding in the first half of 2025 reached over $37B, making it one of the most active periods since the 2021 bull market, with more than 150 deals tracked.

• Large raises such as Binance’s $2B strategic funding and Circle’s $1.1B IPO drove up average deal sizes to $248M, highlighting renewed confidence in established platforms.

• Most capital shifted away from consumer apps and speculative projects, pouring into scaling solutions, compliance infrastructure, and cross-chain protocols.

• Around $700M flowed into projects combining AI and crypto, signaling that investors see this intersection as the next major frontier of innovation.

• Top investors like a16z crypto, Paradigm, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, and Sequoia accounted for about 40% of the highest-value rounds, showing how much influence large funds now have over the sector’s direction.

Total Funding Overview

Between January and June 2025, crypto and blockchain startups raised approximately $37.3B in disclosed funding.

The average deal size was about $248M, which is notably higher than in previous years. This average, however, was skewed by several mega-rounds and IPOs, such as Binance’s massive $2B strategic raise and Circle’s $1.1B IPO. The median deal size was closer to $50M, reflecting that most rounds were still in the mid-market range.

This funding total puts H1 2025 among the most active periods since the 2021 bull market. What’s especially striking is how much capital flowed into infrastructure and scaling solutions rather than just consumer apps.

Monthly and Quarterly Trends

Funding volumes varied month to month, with March standing out as the strongest. In March alone, companies raised an estimated $8B, driven by large strategic rounds and pre-IPO funding.

January and February combined for roughly $9.4B, while April saw a slight slowdown to about $4.5B. Activity rebounded in May and June, each exceeding $5B, supported by late-stage deals and the Circle IPO.

Quarterly, Q1 accounted for nearly $17.4B, while Q2 added another $15.9B. While Q1 was boosted by early-year momentum and Binance’s raise, Q2 showed more breadth, with large rounds spread across scaling infrastructure, custody solutions, and DeFi.

This cadence suggests investors front-loaded funding decisions early in the year, possibly to lock in valuations before further token price appreciation.

Sector Breakdown and Analysis

Looking at how funds were allocated by sector gives clear signals about where investors see long-term value:

• DeFi and Financial Infrastructure attracted the largest share, with more than $6.2B in funding. Institutional DeFi protocols focused on compliant lending, derivatives, and liquidity provisioning was especially hot.

• Layer 1 and Layer 2 scaling solutions raised approximately $3.3B. EigenLayer, LayerZero, and other protocol-focused projects were top recipients, reflecting investor belief that Ethereum scaling and cross-chain interoperability are still unsolved opportunities.

• Custody, Security, and Compliance solutions brought in more than $1.2B. This highlights the importance of trusted infrastructure as regulators tighten requirements.

• Stablecoin and payment networks raised about $1.5B, indicating that capital continues to back projects bridging fiat rails and on-chain liquidity.

• AI-Crypto convergence emerged as a fast-growing theme, with around $700M invested in projects blending large language models, decentralized compute, and token incentives.

• NFTs and Gaming funding remained muted compared to 2021–2022, totaling roughly $600M, which underscores the pivot from speculative collectibles to more utility-focused applications.

In short, capital has rotated decisively away from pure consumer hype cycles toward foundational infrastructure, compliance rails, and scaled ecosystems.

Notable Funding Rounds

Several mega-rounds dominated the headlines and capital flows. Binance’s $2B strategic raise in January immediately set the tone for the year, signaling that even mature exchanges still command enormous investor confidence. Circle’s $1.1B IPO became the largest public exit of the half-year and validated stablecoin models as viable, revenue-generating businesses. Binance’s and Circle’s funding rounds were the second and third largest funding rounds in crypto history. 

Other standout rounds included TON’s $400M strategic round, Phantom’s $150M Series C, and LayerZero’s $150M investment. These deals alone accounted for more than a quarter of all H1 funding volume.

One important dynamic: nearly all large rounds included participation from top-tier firms like a16z crypto, Paradigm, Sequoia Capital, and Pantera Capital, suggesting that dominant venture funds continue to concentrate ownership in category leaders.

Investor Participation

Among the most active lead investors, a16z crypto stood out by anchoring at least 15 major deals across scaling, infrastructure, and AI integrations, collectively accounting for over $2.5B in disclosed funding. Paradigm maintained a strong presence, leading or co-leading 10 rounds with a focus on modular blockchains, restaking protocols, and next-generation DeFi platforms, representing more than $1.8B in committed capital.

Pantera Capital participated in 12 investments, backing both early-stage projects and later-stage growth rounds, with total allocations approaching $1.3B. Galaxy Digital and Sequoia Capital were also highly active, each contributing to 8–9 rounds focused on custody infrastructure, compliance tools, and enterprise adoption, together deploying close to $1.1B.

Taken together, these five firms were involved in about 40% of the highest-value rounds tracked in H1 2025. Their collective participation in more than 50 major deals underscores how concentrated crypto venture capital has become. The scale and consistency of their investments reinforce the narrative that blue-chip funds are not only supplying liquidity but also actively shaping the architecture and priorities of the next generation of crypto infrastructure. This concentration of capital signals to founders and smaller funds alike that aligning with these large, thesis-driven investors has become a critical factor in scaling ambitious projects.

Our Take

A few clear themes stand out from this data. Scaling and infrastructure are top priorities across the sector. Investors are allocating record sums to projects tackling network congestion, improving interoperability between chains, and strengthening compliance capabilities. This reflects a growing consensus that for crypto to mature into mainstream finance and technology, the base layers must be more robust and regulated.

Another noticeable trend is that mega-rounds are back. With valuations stabilizing and revenue metrics improving, founders are raising large strategic war chests to consolidate market share and secure multi-year runways. These big funding events are reminiscent of the 2021 cycle but are now happening in a more disciplined environment where due diligence and traction matter more than hype alone.

Public markets have also reopened as a viable exit route. Circle’s $1.1B IPO signals that mature crypto companies can access traditional capital markets again, something the industry lacked for nearly two years. This return of credible public listings could help unlock more institutional interest and create benchmarks for valuations across private rounds.

AI integration is emerging as a powerful narrative. While still in the early innings, hundreds of millions are flowing into projects combining large language models, decentralized compute networks, and token-based incentive systems. Investors seem to agree that AI-crypto convergence will be a defining theme over the next cycle, driving both innovation and competition.

By contrast, gaming and NFTs have cooled off significantly. Speculative funding in collectibles and play-to-earn ecosystems has been replaced by a focus on utility, compliance, and infrastructure. This shift underscores that capital is moving away from short-term trends and toward foundational technologies that can scale sustainably.

Overall, the data shows that crypto funding has decisively shifted from speculative bets to longer-term investments in infrastructure and protocols. This pivot reflects both investor caution after the past cycle and a growing belief that the next wave of adoption will be built on more mature, regulated, and scalable systems.

Final Thoughts

H1 2025 was a strong confirmation that crypto venture capital is not just back but increasingly sophisticated. The funding volumes, over $37B, demonstrate that despite market swings, large investors are committed to building the next generation of financial and technological infrastructure.

If current trends hold, H2 could see more IPOs, sustained strategic funding rounds, and a deeper push into AI-powered protocols. The sector is maturing rapidly, with capital consolidating around serious teams and real revenue models.

Whether you’re an investor, founder, or builder, the clear message from this data is that the window to stake out leadership positions across infrastructure, scaling, and compliance is open and well-funded.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.