Author: Yogita Khatri, Venture Capital.
Compiled by: Baihua Blockchain.
According to funding dashboard data from (The BlockPro), crypto venture funding in 2024 grew by 28% year-on-year, reaching approximately $13.7 billion. While there has been significant progress compared to 2023, this growth has not returned to previous peaks, despite the very bullish market sentiment this year.
Looking ahead to 2025, top crypto VCs maintain a cautiously optimistic attitude. While most believe funding levels are unlikely to return to the highs of 2021-2022, there is a clear consensus: startups with strong product-market fit and visible user adoption are the most likely to attract capital in the coming year.
Here are the 2025 funding 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, in an interview with (The Block), stated that crypto venture funding is expected to see significant growth in 2025, driven by factors including a relaxation of the U.S. regulatory environment, potentially continued increases in Token prices, and an increase in institutional capital. However, Hadick believes funding levels will not return to the highs of 2021-2022 for 'a long time,' reflecting cautious attitudes among venture capitalists about repeating past mistakes.
Dragonfly will continue to focus on supporting founders who excel in verified product-market fit areas, including decentralized finance (DeFi), scaling platforms, centralized finance (CeFi), and stablecoins/payments. While emerging areas like crypto AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) are also on the radar, Hadick believes these are still in an 'experimental' phase.
On the contrary, Hadick stated that as attention shifts to emerging industries, investments in categories like 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.
Pantera Capital's general partner Lauren Stephanian, in an interview with (The Block), stated that due to investors being more willing to deploy capital with a U.S. government that supports crypto, crypto venture funding is expected to grow in 2025.
However, Stephanian mentioned, 'The bull market will not last forever,' so it remains to be seen 'when investment deployment will begin to slow down in the coming year.'
Pantera will continue to invest broadly in crypto and blockchain but particularly favors crypto-AI, decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), and new Layer 1 blockchains that support more application layer functions.
3. Mult1C0in: Continuing to be optimistic about the Solana ecosystem.
Mult1C0in Capital's current focus is on expanding its investment in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, particularly in the Solana ecosystem. This year, Solana's on-chain key metrics outperformed Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem. 'We expect this trend to continue, and applications and protocols on Solana will be big winners in the next cycle as more users, capital, issuance, and activity migrate to Solana's ecosystem,' said Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner of Mult1C0in Capital, to (The Block).
Samani believes that Ethereum will continue to face challenges and may even enter a long-term 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 technological 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 obtain dollars. Their design space is vast, and we are still in the relatively early stages of the adoption curve.'
4. Coinbase Ventures: Focusing on on-chain economy.
Hoolie Tejwani, head of Coinbase Ventures, told (The Block) that the institution 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 a pro-crypto Congress that will take office in January 2025.
Tejwani stated that Coinbase Ventures will continue to make extensive investments around the on-chain economy, 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 are finally becoming possible. Areas of focus include stablecoin payments and finance, the intersection of crypto and artificial intelligence, on-chain consumer applications (such as social, gaming, and creator applications), and DeFi innovations.
At the same time, Coinbase Ventures has not completely abandoned infrastructure layer investments, 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 capital and incubation department under BN valued at $10 billion, BN Labs is a 'evergreen' investor. Regardless of market cycle changes, the company will continue to support Web3, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology startups, according to its investment director Alex Odagiu, who spoke to (The Block).
BN Labs expects crypto venture 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 applications, product-market fit, excellent teams, and sustainable revenue models are the 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. Partner Will Nuelle told (The Block) that stablecoins, especially in the payments sector, exhibit strong product-market fit and remain a key area for capital deployment.
Although the adoption of tokenization is still lagging behind stablecoins, Nuelle believes it holds great potential for investors. Galaxy Ventures plans to further explore these opportunities. However, Nuelle is more pessimistic about metaverse-related projects, predicting that due to a lack of clear adoption signs, funding in that area will lag in 2025.
7. Hashed: Cautiously optimistic about 2025.
Simon Seojoon Kim, CEO and managing partner of Hashed, holds a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2025. He stated that while Trump's comments about making Bitcoin a U.S. Treasury asset imply potential changes in institutional sentiment, funding levels are unlikely to return to the peaks of 2021-2022. Kim added that macro or political 'black swan' events could significantly alter this situation.
Kim pointed out that key drivers for 2025 may include clarity in the U.S. regulatory framework, increased institutional activity in Asian markets, and infrastructure advancements supporting real-world applications. However, he also warned that regulatory setbacks, macroeconomic uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions could dampen growth.
Hashed's investment priorities for 2025 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 funding for GameFi projects lacking sustainable economic models, undifferentiated Layer 1 and Layer 2 protocols, consumer-grade DeFi applications in restricted regions, and NFT platforms without clear utility or revenue models to decrease.
Hashed plans to complete fundraising for its third venture fund in the first quarter of 2025 and launch a new investment tool in Abu Dhabi to facilitate direct token investments under the region's regulatory framework. He stated that this strategic expansion aims to address the inability of existing Korean domestic funds to make direct token investments due to local regulatory restrictions, though he did not disclose the target fund size.
8. HackVC: Betting on crypto, 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 is expected to 'grow significantly' in 2025. Roman attributes this to pro-crypto government policies and rekindled enthusiasm among Web3 entrepreneurs.
HackVC primarily focuses on three areas: crypto and artificial intelligence, infrastructure, and DeFi. Roman mentioned that due to decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) based on GPUs, 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 scalable protocols, modular infrastructure, Web3 security, maximum extractable value (MEV) improvements, and account abstraction technologies. These innovations significantly enhance the Web3 tech stack and improve the user experience of decentralized applications (dApps).
In the DeFi space, HackVC believes that we currently have a 'rare opportunity to streamline the financial system.' Roman sees payment based on stablecoins as the foundation of this system, with broad real-world application potential, representing 'a trillion-dollar market.' However, he is less optimistic about NFTs, predicting that most will devalue, with only top-tier assets maintaining their 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 funding levels will not return to the highs of 2021-2022, as those years had a unique macroeconomic environment.
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 (like 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 funding levels to rise in 2025 as the market remains strong. However, she believes that funding scales will not return to the heights of 2021-2022, as the hype 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 institutions and retail users.
