Crypto and Blockchain Venture Capital – Q4 2025
Introduction
Crypto venture capital activity saw a major pop in Q4 2025 led by big investments in later-stage deals. In total, VCs deployed more than $8 billion into private crypto and blockchain-related companies, the most investment since Q2 2022. Still, deal counts remain steady and well below their 2021-2022 numbers. The macro environment continues to present headwinds for fund managers seeking new allocations, and recent liquid crypto market activity is likely to further deter allocators in Q1 of 2026.
Still, crypto venture activity remains healthy overall. Large trading businesses raised significant money in Q4 2025, and sectors including stablecoins, AI, and blockchain infrastructure continue to draw deals and dollars. Pre-seed deal counts remain healthy, suggesting that entrepreneurs can still fund new projects. U.S. dominance remains intact and given the administration’s focus on promoting bitcoin, crypto, and blockchain adoption, it is likely to persist.
Key Takeaways
2025 saw more than $20 billion invested in crypto and blockchain startups, the largest annual haul since 2022 and more than double 2023’s figure.
Venture capital investment in crypto startups totaled $8.5 billion (+84% QoQ) across 425 deals (+2.6% QoQ) in Q4 2025.
Later-stage deals captured 56% of the capital invested, while earlier-stage deals accounted for 44%, a figure that is unchanged QoQ.
The trading category received the most venture capital with $5.5 billion, led by Revolut’s $3 billion and large raises by Touareg Group ($1 billion) and Kraken ($800 million).
The U.S. continues to dominate capital and deal count.
On the fundraising side, investors allocated $1.98 billion to 11 new crypto venture funds.
Venture Investing
Deal Count and Capital Invested
In Q4, venture capitalists invested $8.5 billion (+84% QoQ) into crypto and blockchain-focused startups and private companies across 425 deals (+2.6% QoQ).
In Q4, 11 deals raised more than $100 million each. Combined, these accounted for 85% of the total quarterly haul ($7.3 billion): Revolut ($3 billion), Touareg Group ($1 billion), Kraken ($800 million), Ripple ($500 million), Tempo ($500 million), Erebor ($350 million), MegaHoot ($300 million), Rain ($250 million), EXUGlobal ($120 million), TradeAlgo ($120 million), and RedotPay ($107 million).
For the full year, VCs invested $20 billion in crypto across 1,660 deals. It was the biggest year for such activity since 2022 and more than double the investment in 2023.
Capital Invested and Bitcoin Price
The multi-year correlation between the bitcoin price and capital invested into crypto startups seen during prior cycles has weakened. Bitcoin has risen significantly since January 2023 while venture capital activity has struggled to keep pace, though some correlation remains, such as with the simultaneous dips in VC investment and bitcoin price in Q2 2025.
Investment by Stage
In Q4, 56% of capital invested went to later-stage startups, while 44% went to younger companies.
By deal count, the share of pre-seed deals rose to 23% and remains healthy compared to prior cycles. We track the percentage of pre-seed deals to gauge the robustness of entrepreneurial behavior and the risk appetite of venture investors. The share of later-stage deals has been rising over the past few quarters, reflecting the market’s growing maturity.
Annually, we can see a consistent trend: growing mid- and later-stage deal share and a declining pre-seed deal share. This reflects the industry’s maturation – for example, in 2016, there was significant demand for new trading venues and exchanges but, by 2025, there were plenty of those around.
An annual view of capital invested by category tells the same story: big dollars going to bigger, later-stage companies. These companies were once early-stage, with lower capital demands, but have now graduated into large, solidified businesses. Note that 57% of capital invested in crypto startups and private companies in 2025 went to later-stage companies, the largest share ever observed.
Valuation and Deal Size
VC-backed crypto company valuations climbed in 2025, with Q1 exceeding 2021 highs and Q4 setting a new record. Valuations across the broader VC complex outside of crypto also rose in 2025, though they have not yet matched their 2021 highs. The median deal size in crypto also matched its previous all-time highs in 2025. In Q4 2025, the median crypto deal size was $4 million while the median pre-money valuation (a company’s value before it receives external investment) was a whopping $70 million. (Note: Valuation data is sparse compared to the total universe of deals. For example, we only have valuation data for 10% of deals completed in Q4 2025 and the valuations that are available skew heavily to later-stage deals.)
Investments by Category
Companies in our Trading/Exchange/Investing/Lending category raised the most capital from crypto VCs, retaining the top spot by pulling in more than $5 billion, led by $3 billion invested in Revolut and $800 million invested in Kraken. This category has the most entrenched business models in crypto and has historically accounted for the largest share of VC investment.
Market share of funds raised by category over time shows some interesting trends beyond the continued dominance of the Trading/Exchange/Investing/Lending category. For instance, the Web3/NFT/DAO/Metaverse/Gaming category has been waning, and Payments/Rewards and Banking are on the upswing.
By deal count, Trading/Exchange/Investing/Lending still led, but Web3/NFT/DAO/Metaverse/Gaming is still drawing interest. The other high-volume categories are demonstrative of the market’s current priorities: DeFi, infrastructure, payments/rewards, and tokenization round out the top six.
By deal count, the sector is becoming more diverse when viewed over time.
Investment by Stage and Category
Breaking down capital invested and deal count by category and stage gives a clearer picture of what types of companies in each category are raising funds. In Q4 2025, the vast majority of capital invested in Trading/Exchange/Investing/Lending went to later-stage companies (mostly Revolut and Kraken). In contrast, Banking and other categories featured large raises by younger companies.
Analyzing the distribution of invested capital across different stages in each category reveals the relative maturity of various investment opportunities.
As in prior quarters, Q4 featured deals across a healthy dispersion of stages and categories.
Examining the share of deals done by stage in each category offers insight into the maturity of each investable category.
Investment by Cohort
Startups founded in 2013 received the most venture capital in Q4 2025 at $3 billion, all of which was Revolut. Startups founded in 2025 captured the second largest share of capital at $2.2 billion.
Investment by Geographic Location
In Q4 2025, 55% of capital invested went to companies headquartered in the United States, the most for any country. The United Kingdom came in second with 33%, followed by Singapore with 2% and Hong Kong with 1.7%.
The story was largely the same by deal count though a bit more dispersed. Companies headquartered in the United States accounted for 43% of deals completed, followed by United Kingdom with 6%, and Hong Kong with 4%.
Venture Fundraising
Fundraising for crypto venture funds remains challenging. The macro environment and turmoil in the crypto market from 2022-2023 have continued to dissuade some allocators from making the same level of commitments to crypto venture investments that they did in early 2021 and 2022. More recently, increased interest in artificial intelligence has also commanded some attention previously interested in crypto investing, while spot ETFs and digital asset treasury companies are also competing for institutional investment. In Q4 2025, the total capital allocated to crypto-focused venture funds was $1.98 billion across 11 funds.
On an annual basis, venture funds raised $8.75 billion last year, more than any year since 2022.
The average fund size rose to $167 million and the median rose slightly to $46 million.
Summary
Sentiment is improving and activity is rising, though both remain well below all-time highs. Prior bull runs in 2017 and 2021 featured a high correlation between VC activity and liquid crypto asset prices, but for the last two years activity has remained subdued while cryptos have risen. The venture stagnation is due to a number of factors, such as waning interest in previously hot crypto VC sectors like gaming, NFTs, and Web3; competition from AI startups for investment capital; and higher interest rates, which disincentivize venture allocators broadly.
Later-stage deals led in capital raised in 2025. Last year saw more capital invested in seaoned companies than younger ones, reflecting the space’s maturity. Pre-seed deal count as a percentage of the total has trended down consistently as the industry has matured. With crypto being adopted by established traditional players, and a large cohort of venture-backed firms having found product-market fit, it’s increasingly likely that the golden era of pre-seed crypto venture investing has passed.
Spot ETPs and Digital Asset Treasury Companies (DATs) may have pressured funds and startups. Several high-profile investments in the spot-based bitcoin exchange-traded products in the United States by allocators suggest that some large investors (pensions, endowments, hedge funds, etc.) may be gaining exposure to the sector via these large, liquid vehicles rather than turning to early-stage VC investing. Interest in spot-based Ethereum ETPs has increased over the last two quarters. Should that continue, or even if new ETPs launch covering other alternative layer-1 blockchains, demand for exposure to segments like DeFi or Web3 could flow to the ETPs rather than to the venture complex. The rise of DATs in Q2 and Q3 may also have competed with venture investment for allocator interest in the sector.
Fund managers still face a difficult environment. While capital allocated ticked up in 2025, new fund count has declined each of the last two quarters and remains near 5-year lows. Macroeconomic factors continue to present headwinds for allocators, but material shifts in the regulatory environment rekindle allocator interest in the space.
The United States continues to dominate the crypto startup ecosystem. Despite a remarkably tricky and often hostile regulatory regime during previous years, companies and projects headquartered in the United States accounted for most deals completed and most capital invested. That trend continued last year with a new administration and Congress that began enacting the most pro-crypto agenda in history across a range of vectors. We expect U.S. dominance to increase, particularly on the back of the GENIUS Act becoming law and if Congress can pass a crypto market structure bill, which would further entice traditional U.S. financial services firms to enter the space in earnest.
Legal Disclosure:
This document, and the information contained herein, has been provided to you by Galaxy Digital Inc. and its affiliates (“Galaxy Digital”) solely for informational purposes. This document may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part, in any format, without the express written approval of Galaxy Digital. Neither the information, nor any opinion contained in this document, constitutes an offer to buy or sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, any advisory services, securities, futures, options or other financial instruments or to participate in any advisory services or trading strategy. Nothing contained in this document constitutes investment, legal or tax advice or is an endorsement of any of the stablecoins mentioned herein. You should make your own investigations and evaluations of the information herein. Any decisions based on information contained in this document are the sole responsibility of the reader. Readers should consult with their own advisors and rely on their independent judgement when making financial or investment decisions.
Participants, along with Galaxy Digital, hold a financial interest in Bitcoin (BTC). Galaxy regularly engages in buying and selling BTC, including hedging transactions, for its own proprietary accounts and on behalf of its counterparties. Galaxy also provides services to vehicles that invest in BTC. If the value of such assets increases, those vehicles may benefit, and Galaxy’s service fees may increase accordingly. The valuation in this communication is based on technical, fundamental, and market analysis and not on any formal valuation method. For more information, please refer to Galaxy’s public filings and statements. Cryptocurrencies, including BTC, are inherently volatile and risky and ultimate market movements may not align with this statement.
For additional risks related to digital assets, please refer to the risk factors contained in filings Galaxy Digital Inc. makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) from time to time, including in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, filed with the SEC on November 10, 2025, available at www.sec.gov.
Certain statements in this document reflect Galaxy Digital’s views, estimates, opinions or predictions (which may be based on proprietary models and assumptions, including, in particular, Galaxy Digital’s views on the current and future market for certain digital assets), and there is no guarantee that these views, estimates, opinions or predictions are currently accurate or that they will be ultimately realized. To the extent these assumptions or models are not correct or circumstances change, the actual performance may vary substantially from, and be less than, the estimates included herein. None of Galaxy Digital nor any of its affiliates, shareholders, partners, members, directors, officers, management, employees or representatives makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the information or any other information (whether communicated in written or oral form) transmitted or made available to you. Each of the aforementioned parties expressly disclaims any and all liability relating to or resulting from the use of this information. Certain information contained herein (including financial information) has been obtained from published and non-published sources. Such information has not been independently verified by Galaxy Digital and, Galaxy Digital, does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of such information. Affiliates of Galaxy Digital may have owned, hedged and sold or may own, hedge and sell investments in some of the digital assets, protocols, equities, or other financial instruments discussed in this document. Affiliates of Galaxy Digital may also lend to some of the protocols discussed in this document, the underlying collateral of which could be the native token subject to liquidation in the event of a margin call or closeout. The economic result of closing out the protocol loan could directly conflict with other Galaxy affiliates that hold investments in, and support, such token. Except where otherwise indicated, the information in this document is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date, and will not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available, or circumstances existing or changes occurring after the date hereof. This document provides links to other Websites that we think might be of interest to you. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you may be moving to a provider’s website that is not associated with Galaxy Digital. These linked sites and their providers are not controlled by us, and we are not responsible for the contents or the proper operation of any linked site. The inclusion of any link does not imply our endorsement or our adoption of the statements therein. We encourage you to read the terms of use and privacy statements of these linked sites as their policies may differ from ours. The foregoing does not constitute a “research report” as defined by FINRA Rule 2241 or a “debt research report” as defined by FINRA Rule 2242 and was not prepared by Galaxy Digital Partners LLC. Similarly, the foregoing does not constitute a “research report” as defined by CFTC Regulation 23.605(a)(9) and was not prepared by Galaxy Derivatives LLC. For all inquiries, please email [email protected].
©Copyright Galaxy Digital Inc. 2026. All rights reserved.