Cryptocurrency Startups Raised Approximately $176 Million in Funding This Week, VCs Prefer 'Sustainable Business Models'

Despite the cryptocurrency market's downturn since its peak in October, with a total market value decrease of around $1 trillion, venture capital firms invested approximately $176 million in the cryptocurrency industry this week, covering 16 startups. According to DefiLlama data, the total funding in the cryptocurrency sector so far in 2025 has exceeded $25 billion, significantly higher than the same period last year and well above market expectations at the beginning of the year.

Major investors this week include Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Digital Currency Group (DCG). Several industry insiders point out that the current capital allocation logic is changing, with investors gradually moving away from projects solely driven by market sentiment and narratives, and focusing more on clear product positioning, real needs, and sustainable revenue models. Sebastián Serrano, CEO of the Argentine cryptocurrency exchange platform Ripo, stated that projects with clear product-market fit and stable cash flow are more likely to receive funding in the current environment.

Specifically, cross-chain infrastructure project LI.FI completed a $29 million funding round this week, with its protocol integrating multiple cross-chain bridges and decentralized trading aggregators, planning to use the funds for infrastructure expansion targeting AI agents and stablecoin scenarios, and advancing the intent and solver market set to launch in the first quarter of 2026. Real Finance also completed a $29 million private funding round, building an institutional-grade L1 blockchain based on the Cosmos architecture, focusing on compliant tokenization of real-world assets, aiming to onboard around $500 million in assets in the short term. Another key project, TenX Protocols, raised $22 million and has been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange's Venture Board, offering staking, validation nodes, and digital asset treasury services across multiple high-performance public chains. The current funding structure reflects the market's continued interest in 'infrastructure-oriented' and 'institution-friendly' projects, as capital remains willing to support projects with long-term competitiveness and clear business paths, even under overall market pressure. (DL News)

Related Articles