Written by: Yogita Khatri, The Block
Translated by: Yangz, Techub News
According to data from The Block Pro's Funding Dashboard, cryptocurrency venture capital funding grew by 28% year-on-year in 2024, reaching approximately $13.7 billion. Although this year saw significant growth compared to last year, the increase is relatively weak compared to the peaks of 2021 ($29 billion) and 2022 ($33.3 billion).
Looking ahead to 2025, top cryptocurrency venture capital firms hold a cautiously optimistic view. While most institutions believe that funding levels will not return to the highs of 2021-2022, there is a clear consensus that startups with strong product-market fit and real user adoption are most likely to attract funding in the coming year.
Below are insights shared by leaders from companies like Dragonfly, Pantera, Multicoin, Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs, and Galaxy Ventures on the funding outlook for 2025.
Dragonfly: Betting on DeFi, CeFi, stablecoins, etc.
Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly, expects significant growth in cryptocurrency venture capital by 2025, driven by a relaxed regulatory environment in the U.S., the possibility of token prices continuing to appreciate, and increased institutional capital deployment. However, Hadick believes that funding levels will not reach the highs of 2021-2022 for a long time, reflecting the cautious attitude of venture capital firms.
Dragonfly remains focused on supporting top founders in areas with high product-market fit, including DeFi, scaling platforms, CeFi, and stablecoin/payments. While emerging areas such as Crypto-AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are also within Hadick's focus, he describes these fields as current "experiments."
Hadick stated that as the focus shifts to newer areas, investments in categories such as security, tokenization, and interoperability may decline. Additionally, he predicts that decentralized social media will face challenges due to a lack of scalability and product-market fit.
Pantera: Excited about Crypto-AI, DePIN, and new L1s
Lauren Stephanian, general partner at Pantera Capital, stated in an interview that as investors become more willing to deploy capital into U.S. agencies supporting cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency venture capital funding is expected to increase in 2025.
However, "bull markets cannot last forever," Stephanian said, so "when we will start to see deployment slow down next year" remains to be seen.
Stephanian stated that Pantera will continue to invest broadly in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, but is particularly interested in Crypto-AI, DePIN, and new L1s that can enable more application-level functionality.
Multicoin: Still optimistic about the Solana ecosystem
Multicoin Capital is focusing on expanding its investments in DeFi applications, particularly those within the Solana ecosystem, which has outperformed Ethereum and L2 ecosystems in key on-chain metrics this year. Multicoin Capital co-founder and managing partner Kyle Samani stated, "We expect this trend to continue, and as more users, capital, tokens, and activity migrate to the Solana ecosystem, Solana-based applications and protocols will become the big winners of the next cycle."
Samani stated that Ethereum will continue its downward trend and "may even fall into a long-term decline" due to intense competition from Solana and other faster, cheaper blockchains. He added, "Unless Ethereum can win in this competition, developers, users, and capital will migrate to other chains that better meet their needs."
In addition to the Solana ecosystem, Multicoin is also optimistic about stablecoins, which Samani describes as "potentially one of the greatest technological and financial innovations of our lifetime." Samani stated, "Stablecoins have the opportunity to become a behemoth by 2025. Everyone in the world wants dollars, and stablecoins are the most effective way to obtain dollars so far. The design space is vast, and we are still relatively early in the adoption curve."
Coinbase Ventures: Focused on the on-chain economy
Hoolie Tejwani, head of Coinbase Ventures, told The Block that the firm expects to be "very active in 2025 and beyond" and is well-prepared to seize market opportunities. Given the Trump administration's support for cryptocurrencies and the new Congress set to take office in January 2025, the company is optimistic about constructive progress in cryptocurrency regulation in the U.S.
Tejwani stated that Coinbase Ventures will continue to follow "the best and brightest builders" and invest broadly across the on-chain economy. The company is optimistic about the application layer, stating that internet-scale applications are finally becoming possible as infrastructure matures. Additionally, Coinbase Ventures' focus areas for investment in 2025 include stablecoin payments and finance, the intersection of cryptocurrency and AI, on-chain consumer applications (such as social, gaming, and creator applications), and innovations in the DeFi space.
Tejwani stated that, at the same time, Coinbase Ventures has not completely abandoned the infrastructure layer, as there are still unresolved challenges and new opportunities in the tools space.
Binance Labs: Prioritizing fundamentals and user adoption
As Binance's venture capital and incubation institution valued at $10 billion, Binance Labs is a "evergreen" investor. Its investment director Alex Odagiu stated that the company will continue to support Web3, AI, and biotech startups, regardless of market cycle changes.
Binance Labs expects that cryptocurrency venture capital will maintain strong momentum in 2025, but will still "focus on fundamentals" rather than price trends or market hype. Odagiu emphasized that projects with real-world use cases, product-market fit, strong teams, and sustainable revenue models are most likely to succeed.
Galaxy Ventures: Optimistic about stablecoins and tokenization
Galaxy Ventures has a positive outlook on the development potential of stablecoins and tokenization in 2025. The company's general partner Will Nuelle stated that stablecoins, especially those in the payments space, will continue to show strong product-market fit and remain a key area for capital deployment.
Additionally, although tokenization has seen slower progress in stablecoin applications, Nuelle believes that investors can see enormous potential in this area. Galaxy Ventures plans to explore opportunities in the tokenization space further. On the other hand, Nuelle is less optimistic about metaverse-related projects, predicting that funding in this direction will lag in 2025 due to a lack of clear signs of adoption.
Hashed: Cautious about the outlook for 2025
Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO and managing partner of Hashed, is cautious about the prospects for 2025. He stated that while Trump's remarks about viewing Bitcoin as a U.S. Treasury asset suggest a potential shift in institutional sentiment, funding levels are unlikely to return to the highs of 2021-2022. However, significant changes could occur if macroeconomic or political black swan events arise.
He pointed out that 2025 could be influenced by factors such as clarity in U.S. regulation, increased institutional activity in Asian markets, and real-world applications brought about by advances in infrastructure. As for negative factors, Kim warned that risks such as regulatory setbacks, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions could suppress economic growth.
Hashed's investment focus for 2025 includes data infrastructure, institutional-grade DeFi applications, regulated stablecoin payment systems, and Crypto-AI infrastructure. Kim believes these areas possess clear product-market fit, regulatory compliance pathways, and mature revenue potential. In contrast, he expects investment in speculative GameFi projects lacking sustainable economics, undifferentiated L1 and L2 protocols, consumer DeFi applications in restricted jurisdictions, and NFT platforms without clear utility or revenue models to decline.
Hashed plans to launch its third venture fund in Q1 2025 and introduce a new investment tool in Abu Dhabi aimed at facilitating direct token investments under the region's regulatory framework. Kim stated, "This strategic expansion addresses the limitations faced by our existing Korea-registered venture fund, where the ability for direct token investment is restricted by local regulations." As for the target fund size, Hashed declined to disclose.
Hack VC: Betting on Crypto-AI, infrastructure, and DeFi
Ed Roman, co-founder and managing partner of Hack VC, stated that if no black swan events occur, Hack VC expects cryptocurrency venture capital funding in 2025 to "grow significantly." Roman believes that government support for cryptocurrencies and founders reigniting their interest in Web3 will be key drivers of this growth.
Hack VC plans to focus on three main areas in 2025, including Crypto-AI, infrastructure, and DeFi. Roman pointed out that cryptocurrency provides a unique opportunity for a multi-layered AI stack through a GPU-based decentralized physical infrastructure network, at a lower cost compared to traditional Web2 clouds. He said, "In Web2, this is already a multi-trillion-dollar market."
In terms of infrastructure, Hack VC remains optimistic about scalability protocols, modular infrastructure, Web3 security, maximum extractable value (MEV) improvements, and account abstraction technologies. Roman stated that these innovations have significantly matured the Web3 stack and improved the user experience of DApps.
Regarding DeFi, Hack VC aims to seize the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to simplify the financial system. Roman believes that stablecoin-based payments are fundamental to this system, and widespread real-world applications represent "a multi-trillion-dollar market." Additionally, the company is not optimistic about NFTs, predicting that most NFTs will depreciate, with only blue-chip assets retaining value.
Portal Ventures: Supporting comprehensive platforms
Evan Fisher, founder and general partner of Portal Ventures, expects that "animal spirits" will return in 2025, but funding levels are not expected to return to the highs of 2021-2022 due to the unique macroeconomic context of those years.
Fisher stated that Portal Ventures is optimistic about platforms that provide both infrastructure and applications, allowing projects to control user experience and build practical use cases. Additionally, he anticipates that investment in heavy infrastructure projects like zero-knowledge development platforms and middleware will slow down due to a lack of clients and sustainable business models.
Blockchain Capital: Focused on stablecoin infrastructure and DeFi among various areas
Kinjal Shah, general partner at Blockchain Capital, expects funding levels to rise in 2025 as the market continues to strengthen. However, she does not expect them to return to the highs of 2021-2022 due to broader macroeconomic trends.
Blockchain Capital continues to be opportunistic, focusing on areas such as stablecoin infrastructure, innovative distribution models, and DeFi platforms that connect institutions and retail investors.
