Written by: Yogita Khatri
Translated by: Blockchain Simplified
According to funding dashboards data from (The Block Pro), crypto venture capital financing grew 28% year-on-year in 2024, reaching approximately $13.7 billion. Although there has been significant progress compared to 2023, this growth has not returned to previous peaks, despite the bullish market sentiment this year.
Looking ahead to 2025, top crypto venture capitalists maintain a cautiously optimistic attitude. While most believe that financing levels are unlikely to recover to the peaks of 2021-2022, there is a clear consensus that startups with strong product-market fit and visible user adoption are most likely to attract capital in the coming year.
Here are the 2025 financing outlooks shared by leaders from companies such as Dragonfly, Pantera, Mult1C0in, Coinbase Ventures, BN Labs, and Galaxy Ventures with (The Block).
1. Dragonfly: Betting on DeFi, CeFi, stablecoins, and more
Rob Hadick, a general partner at Dragonfly, stated in an interview with (The Block) that he expects significant growth in crypto venture capital financing in 2025, driven by factors including a relaxation of the U.S. regulatory environment, potentially sustained increases in Token prices, and an increase in institutional capital. However, Hadick believes that financing levels will not return to the highs of 2021-2022 for 'a long time,' reflecting a cautious attitude from venture capitalists about repeating past mistakes.
Dragonfly will continue to focus on supporting founders who excel in validated product-market fit areas, including decentralized finance (DeFi), scaling platforms, centralized finance (CeFi), and stablecoins/payments. Although emerging fields like crypto AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are also on the radar, Hadick believes these are still in the 'experimental' stage.
Conversely, Hadick stated that as the focus shifts to emerging industries, investments in categories such as security, tokenization, and interoperability may decline. He also predicts that decentralized social media will face challenges due to a lack of scalability and product-market fit.
2. Pantera: Optimistic about crypto-AI, DePIN, and new Layer 1 blockchains
Lauren Stephanian, a general partner at Pantera Capital, stated in an interview with (The Block) that as investors are more willing to deploy capital in a U.S. government that supports crypto, 2025 is expected to see growth in crypto venture capital financing.
However, Stephanian mentioned that 'bull markets do not last forever,' so it is still necessary to observe 'when investment deployment will begin to slow down in the coming year.'
Pantera will continue to invest broadly in the crypto and blockchain space but is particularly optimistic about crypto-AI, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), and new Layer 1 blockchains that support more application-layer functionalities.
3. Mult1C0in: Maintaining optimism for the Solana ecosystem
Mult1C0in Capital is currently focused on expanding its investments in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, particularly within the Solana ecosystem. This year, Solana's on-chain key metrics have outperformed Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem. 'We expect this trend to continue, and applications and protocols on Solana will be major winners in the next cycle as more users, capital, issuance, and activity migrate to the Solana ecosystem,' said Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner of Mult1C0in Capital, to (The Block).
Samani believes Ethereum will continue to face challenges and may even enter a prolonged decline due to fierce competition from Solana and other faster, cheaper blockchains. 'Unless Ethereum can catch up, developers, users, and capital will migrate to other chains that better meet their needs,' he added.
Additionally, Mult1C0in is also optimistic about stablecoins. Samani describes stablecoins as 'one of the greatest technologies and financial innovations of our lifetime.'
'Stablecoins have the opportunity to become an undeniable force in 2025,' Samani stated. 'The whole world wants dollars, and stablecoins are the most effective way to get dollars. Their design space is extremely vast, and we are still relatively early in the adoption curve.'
4. Coinbase Ventures: Focusing on on-chain economics
Hoolie Tejwani, head of Coinbase Ventures, stated in an interview with (The Block) that the agency is expected to be 'very active' in 2025 and beyond, with the ability to seize market opportunities. The company is optimistic about regulatory progress in the U.S., especially due to the pro-crypto Donald Trump administration and the pro-crypto Congress that will take office in January 2025.
Tejwani stated that Coinbase Ventures will continue to invest broadly around on-chain economies, guided by 'where the best and most talented builders are spending the most time and energy.' The company is optimistic about the application layer, believing that as infrastructure matures, applications with internet-scale potential are finally becoming possible. Areas of focus include stablecoin payments and finance, the intersection of crypto and AI, on-chain consumer applications (such as social, gaming, and creator applications), and DeFi innovations.
At the same time, Coinbase Ventures has not completely abandoned investments in the infrastructure layer, as there are still unresolved challenges and new opportunities in the tools space, Tejwani added.
5. BN Labs: Prioritizing fundamentals and user adoption
As a 'evergreen' investor under BN with a valuation of $10 billion, BN Labs is a 'perennial' investor. Regardless of how market cycles change, the company will continue to support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups, its investment director Alex Odagiu told (The Block).
BN Labs expects strong momentum for crypto venture capital funding in 2025 but will still 'focus on fundamentals' rather than price fluctuations or market speculation. Odagiu emphasizes that projects with practical application scenarios, product-market fit, excellent teams, and sustainable revenue models are most likely to succeed.
6. Galaxy Ventures: Optimistic about stablecoins and tokenization
Galaxy Ventures is optimistic about the growth potential of stablecoins and tokenization in 2025. The company’s partner Will Nuelle told (The Block) that stablecoins, especially in the payment space, show a strong product-market fit and remain a key area for capital deployment.
Although the adoption rate of tokenization still lags behind stablecoins, Nuelle believes it holds significant potential for investors. Galaxy Ventures plans to further explore these opportunities. However, Nuelle is pessimistic about metaverse-related projects, predicting that financing in this area will lag in 2025 due to a lack of clear signs of adoption.
7. Hashed: Cautiously optimistic about 2025
Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO and managing partner of Hashed, holds a cautiously optimistic view for 2025. He stated that while Trump's comments about making Bitcoin a financial asset of the U.S. suggest that institutional sentiment may change, financing levels are unlikely to return to the peaks of 2021-2022. Kim added that if a macro or political 'black swan' event occurs, the situation could change significantly.
Kim noted that key drivers in 2025 may include clarity in the U.S. regulatory framework, increased institutional activity in Asian markets, and advancements in infrastructure supporting real-world applications. However, he also warned that regulatory setbacks, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions could suppress growth.
Hashed's 2025 investment priorities include data infrastructure, institutional-grade DeFi applications, regulated stablecoin payment systems, and crypto and artificial intelligence infrastructure. Kim believes these areas have clear product-market fit, compliance pathways, and reliable revenue potential. In contrast, he expects financing for GameFi projects lacking sustainable economic models, undifferentiated Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, consumer-grade DeFi applications in restricted areas, and NFT platforms without clear utility or revenue models to decrease.
Hashed plans to close its third venture fund in the first quarter of 2025 and launch a new investment vehicle in Abu Dhabi to facilitate direct token investments under the region's regulatory framework. He stated that this strategic expansion aims to address the challenges faced by existing Korean local funds due to local regulations that prevent direct token investments but did not disclose the target fund size.
8. Hack VC: Betting on crypto and artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and DeFi
Ed Roman, co-founder and managing partner of Hack VC, told (The Block) that unless a black swan event occurs, crypto venture capital funding in 2025 is expected to 'grow significantly.' Roman attributes this to pro-crypto government policies and a reignited enthusiasm among Web3 entrepreneurs.
Hack VC primarily focuses on three areas: crypto and artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and DeFi. Roman mentioned that due to GPU-based decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs), the crypto space offers unique opportunities in the multi-layer AI stack compared to traditional Web2 clouds. 'This is a trillion-dollar market serving Web2 clients,' he said.
In terms of infrastructure, Hack VC is optimistic about scalability protocols, modular infrastructure, Web3 security, maximum extractable value (MEV) improvements, and account abstraction technology. These innovations significantly enhance the Web3 tech stack, improving the user experience of decentralized applications (dApps).
In the DeFi space, Hack VC sees this as a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity to streamline the financial system.' Roman views stablecoin-based payments as the foundation of this system, with broad real-world application potential and representing 'a trillion-dollar market.' However, he is less optimistic about NFTs, predicting that most NFTs will depreciate, with only top-tier assets retaining value.
9. Portal Ventures: Supporting integrated platforms
Evan Fisher, founder and managing partner of Portal Ventures, expects the 'animal spirits' of the market to return in 2025, but financing levels will not return to the highs of 2021-2022, as the macroeconomic environment of those two years was unique.
Fisher told (The Block) that Portal Ventures is optimistic about platforms that provide both infrastructure and applications, as these platforms can control the user experience and build practical scenarios. However, he predicts that investments in heavier infrastructure projects, such as zero-knowledge development platforms and middleware, will slow down due to a lack of customers and sustainable business models.
10. Blockchain Capital: Focusing on multiple areas, including stablecoin infrastructure and DeFi
Kinjal Shah, a partner at Blockchain Capital, expects financing levels to rise in 2025 as the market continues to remain strong. However, she believes the scale of financing will not return to the highs of 2021-2022, as the frenzy at that time was influenced by broader macroeconomic trends.
Blockchain Capital will continue its opportunistic investments, focusing on stablecoin infrastructure, innovative distribution models, and DeFi platforms connecting institutions and retail users.
