Author: Yogita Khatri
Translation: White Paper Blockchain
According to data from (The BlockPro), crypto venture capital financing increased by 28% in 2024, reaching approximately $13.7 billion. Despite significant progress compared to 2023, this growth has not yet returned to previous highs.
Looking ahead to 2025, top crypto venture capitalists maintain a cautiously optimistic attitude. While most believe that financing levels are unlikely to return to the peaks of 2021 to 2022, there is a clear consensus: startups with strong product-market fit and visible user adoption are most likely to attract capital in the coming year.
The following are the financing outlooks for 2025 shared by leaders from companies such as Dragonfly, Pantera, Multicoin, Coinbase Ventures, BN Labs, and Galaxy Ventures with (The Block).
1. Dragonfly: Betting on DeFi, CeFi, stablecoins, and other areas
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 a relaxation of the U.S. regulatory environment, potentially sustained token price increases, and an influx of institutional capital. However, Hadick believes financing levels will not return to the peaks of 2021-2022 for 'a long time,' reflecting venture capitalists' cautious attitude towards repeating past mistakes.
Dragonfly will continue to focus on supporting founders who excel in areas with proven product-market fit, including decentralized finance (DeFi), scaling platforms, centralized finance (CeFi), and stablecoins/payments. Although emerging areas like crypto-AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are also on the radar, Hadick believes they are still currently in the 'experimental' phase.
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 its 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 due to investors being more willing to allocate capital in response to a U.S. government supportive of crypto, crypto venture capital financing is expected to grow in 2025.
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 make extensive investments 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. Multicoin: Continues to be optimistic about the Solana ecosystem
Multicoin Capital is currently focused on expanding its investments in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, especially 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, as applications and protocols on Solana will become the big 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 Multicoin Capital, to (The Block).
Samani believes that Ethereum will continue to face challenges and may even enter a prolonged decline, as it faces 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, Multicoin also holds an optimistic view on stablecoins. Samani describes stablecoins as 'one of the greatest technological and financial innovations of our lifetime.'
'Stablecoins have the opportunity to become an undeniable force in 2025,' Samani stated. 'The world wants dollars, and stablecoins are the most effective way to obtain dollars. Its design space is extremely broad, and we are still relatively early in the adoption curve.'
4. Coinbase Ventures: Focused on the on-chain economy
Hoolie Tejwani, head of Coinbase Ventures, stated in an interview with (The Block) that he expects the institution to be 'very active' in 2025 and beyond, with the ability to seize market opportunities. The company holds an optimistic view on regulatory progress in the U.S., particularly due to the pro-crypto Trump administration and the incoming pro-crypto Congress in January 2025.
Tejwani stated that Coinbase Ventures will continue to invest broadly around the on-chain economy, guided by 'the places where the best and most talented builders are spending their time and energy.' The company is optimistic about the application layer, believing that as infrastructure matures, network-scale applications are finally becoming possible. Areas of focus include stablecoin payments and finance, the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence, on-chain consumer applications (like social, gaming, and creator applications), and DeFi innovations.
At the same time, Coinbase Ventures has not completely abandoned investments at 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 venture and incubation division under BN with a value of $10 billion, BN Labs is a 'evergreen' investor. Regardless of how the market cycle changes, the company continues to support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups, according to its investment director Alex Odagiu in an interview with (The Block).
BN Labs expects crypto venture capital funding to maintain strong momentum in 2025 but will still 'focus on fundamentals' rather than price fluctuations or market hype. Odagiu emphasized that projects with real-world 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 holds an optimistic view on the growth potential of stablecoins and tokenization in 2025. The company's partner Will Nuelle stated to (The Block) that stablecoins, especially in the payments space, exhibit strong product-market fit and remain a key area for capital deployment.
Although the pace of tokenization adoption still lags behind that of stablecoins, Nuelle believes it holds tremendous potential for investors. Galaxy Ventures plans to further explore these opportunities. However, Nuelle has a more pessimistic view on metaverse-related projects, predicting that due to a lack of clear signs of adoption, financing in this area will lag in 2025.
7. Hashed: Cautiously optimistic about 2025
Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO and managing partner of Hashed, holds a cautiously optimistic view towards 2025. He stated that while Trump's comments about recognizing Bitcoin as a financial asset for the U.S. suggest a potential shift in institutional sentiment, financing levels are unlikely to return to the peaks of 2021-2022. Kim added that this situation could change significantly if a macro or political 'black swan' event occurs.
Kim pointed out that key drivers for 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 paths, and reliable revenue potential. In contrast, he expects financing for GameFi projects with unsustainable economic models, undifferentiated Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, consumer-grade DeFi applications in restricted areas, and NFT platforms with no clear utility or revenue models will decrease.
Hashed plans to complete the fundraising of its third venture fund in the first quarter of 2025 and launch new investment tools in Abu Dhabi to enable direct token investments under the region's regulatory framework. He stated that this strategy expansion aims to address the issue that existing Korean local funds are unable to make direct token investments due to local regulatory restrictions, but did not disclose the target fund size.
8. HackVC: 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, venture capital funding in crypto is expected to 'grow significantly' in 2025. Roman attributes this to pro-crypto government policies and a reignited enthusiasm among Web3 entrepreneurs.
HackVC 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 multi-layer artificial intelligence stacks that are lower than traditional Web2 cloud solutions. 'This is a trillion-dollar market serving Web2 customers,' 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 technologies. These innovations significantly enhance the Web3 tech stack and improve user experience in decentralized applications (dApps).
In the DeFi space, HackVC believes that now is a 'once-in-a-generation opportunity to streamline the financial system.' Roman views stablecoin-based payments as the foundation of this system, possessing extensive 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 maintaining their value.
9. Portal Ventures: Supporting integrated platforms
Evan Fisher, founder and managing partner of Portal Ventures, expects that the 'animal spirits' of the market will return in 2025, but financing levels will not return to the peaks of 2021-2022, as those two years had a unique macroeconomic environment.
Fisher stated to (The Block) that Portal Ventures is optimistic about platforms that provide both infrastructure and applications, as these platforms can control user experience and construct practical scenarios. However, he predicts that investment 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: Focused on multiple areas including stablecoin infrastructure and DeFi
Kinjal Shah, a partner at Blockchain Capital, predicts that with continued market strength, financing levels will rise in 2025. However, she believes that the scale of financing will not return to the heights of 2021-2022, as the frenzy during that time was influenced by broader macroeconomic trends.
Blockchain Capital will continue to maintain opportunistic investments, focusing on stablecoin infrastructure, innovative distribution models, and DeFi platforms that connect institutional and retail users.
(The above content is excerpted and reprinted with the authorization of partner PANews, original link | Source: White Paper Blockchain)
Disclaimer: The article only represents the personal opinions of the author and does not reflect the views and positions of Block. All content and opinions are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investors should make their own decisions and trades, and the author and Block will not bear any responsibility for direct or indirect losses arising from investor transactions.
"Looking ahead to 2025: Which tracks do the 'Top 10 Crypto Ventures' favor?" This article was first published on (Block).
