Where Will Crypto VC Money Flow in 2025? Analyzing 6,700+ Funding Rounds
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Where Will Crypto VC Money Flow in 2025? Analyzing 6,700+ Funding Rounds
Prediction markets and RWA lead the way, NFTs cool down, stablecoins rise, and the industry bids farewell to reckless growth.
Chuyên sâu báo cáo Web3Author: Dudu Bitcoin
Compiled by: Saoirse, Foresight News
In 2025, the rebound in cryptocurrency funding momentum rivals the peak performance of Dennis Rodman (the former American professional basketball player known for his explosive power and stable competitive form).
The total annual funding reached $25 billion, making it the second-highest year on record, second only to the frenzy of 2021.
But there's a key difference this year:
The current funding fervor is actually more sustainable.
To figure out where the money is flowing, I spent weeks analyzing 6,723 funding rounds.
Winning Sectors: Prediction Markets, AI Storage, and RWA
Prediction markets becoming the biggest winner is actually not surprising.
For prediction markets, 2025 was a bountiful year — it's the only sector within Web3 that has successfully attracted mainstream consumer groups.
Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are locked in fierce competition, both striving hard to secure more top-tier partners.
Today, prediction markets are embedded in Google Search and major mainstream media organizations, further integrating into mass-market scenarios.
The fact that Real World Assets (RWA) and cybersecurity have climbed to the top of the funding popularity list also confirms a core point: cryptocurrency is gradually maturing and becoming increasingly entrenched as a significant component of the financial system.
However, for entrepreneurs focused on NFT development, the situation this year hasn't been favorable.
Seed Funding is Maturing
The era of launching projects with small seed funds is long gone. In the AI era, the resources required to develop a product that people actually use have significantly decreased. This means entrepreneurs can "bootstrap" (operate with their own funds) for longer periods, only needing to enter the funding market for support when they have genuinely substantial results in hand.
Advice: Try Hard to Secure a Partnership with Coinbase Ventures
I've seen too many so-called "VC connectors" — they help entrepreneurs connect with investors but take a commission. More crucially, most of these connectors only know third-tier investors; for entrepreneurs, the time investment simply isn't worth it. So, look for people who can connect you with top-tier institutions like Coinbase Ventures, not niche funds like the "Soulja Boy Fund" (Note: Soulja Boy is an American rapper; his namesake fund is relatively small with limited investment influence).
Cryptocurrency is Gradually Maturing
Looking at the projects with the largest funding rounds this year, the trend is quite evident.
Of course, the crypto space still retains some of its "speculative vitality" (Note: referring to the unique high-risk, high-speculation trends inherent to the crypto field):
- Binance: Secured massive funding from the UAE to build a top-tier altcoin trading platform;
- Pump.fun: Set a record for the number of Meme coins issued per second;
- TON: Gained significant attention by leveraging Telegram's widespread adoption in the crypto space;
- Monad: Its L1 public chain accumulated massive popularity within the community, but its subsequent TGE performance was disappointing.
Every industry cycle needs some "stimulating elements," but if you look beyond the short-term perspective, you can clearly see the maturing trend in the crypto space.
Among the projects with the largest funding this year, two are from the prediction market sector — Polymarket and Kalshi.
As mentioned earlier, 2025 was a bountiful year for prediction markets; it's the only sector within Web3 that truly attracted mainstream consumer groups. Polymarket and Kalshi are still fiercely competing, striving hard to secure more top-tier partners, and their services are now embedded in Google Search and major mainstream media.
The stablecoin sector also performed remarkably well in 2025:
- Bullish: Co-founded by Brendan Blumer, previously controversial for the EOS project, its IPO raised $1 billion;
- Ripple: Successfully attracted Wall Street capital to enter the stablecoin space;
- Circle: Raised $1 billion through its IPO, after which its stock price saw a significant surge;
- Payment giant Stripe: Its launched L1 public chain "Tempo" proves that fintech companies are also actively entering the crypto space;
- Figure: Completed a billion-dollar IPO, also focusing on stablecoin-related business.
Finally, cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Gemini also completed funding rounds, which are likely their final rounds before their IPOs.
The total funding for the aforementioned 4 "speculative" projects is approximately $3.27 billion;
The total funding for the prediction market sector reached $3 billion;
While projects in the Web3 space leaning towards mature sectors received a total of $3.4 billion.
Today's cryptocurrency is no longer confined to a single attribute.
It is splitting into three parallel tracks of development:
- The Speculation & Culture track (e.g., Meme coins, niche public chains);
- The Information & Truth Markets track (centered around prediction markets);
- The Real Economy Financial Infrastructure track (e.g., stablecoins, RWA).
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