Venture capital is heating up again in crypto even as token prices tumble.
Investors deployed roughly $4.65bn into 415 deals in Q3 2025, a sharp jump from the previous quarter, driven mainly by a handful of major late-stage rounds, according to data from Galaxy Digital.
Just seven deals, including $1bn for Revolut and $500mn for Kraken, accounted for half of all capital raised. This top-heavy activity pushed valuations back toward bull market levels, with a median deal size of $4.5mn and pre-money valuations near $36mn.
The divergence from liquid markets is striking. Bitcoin has fallen more than 30% from its October 2025 high, and broader crypto markets have erased over $1tn, yet venture activity continues to rise. Trading, exchange and lending platforms pulled in the most funding, while infrastructure, AI, payments and tokenization startups continued to draw consistent early-stage interest.
Deal flow remains solid
The report depicts a split landscape. Later-stage companies captured 57% of all investment, reflecting a maturing sector, while pre-seed activity held steady, suggesting founder appetite has not faded.
US-based firms dominated both capital and deal count, taking close to half of all dollars and around 40% of deals, followed by the UK, Singapore, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.
Fundraising remains tough. Allocators committed $3.16bn to 16 new crypto venture funds in Q3. While this puts 2025 ahead of both 2023 and 2024, new fund launches remain near five-year lows. Higher interest rates, the hype cycle around AI, and competition from liquid vehicles such as spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs are diverting institutional attention from early-stage crypto.
Builders ignore price action
Galaxy Digital noted that, unlike in 2017 and 2021, venture investment no longer moves in lockstep with token prices. In this cycle, VC has remained subdued through the rally and is now accelerating just as liquid markets crack.
The firm argues that allocators increasingly use ETPs and digital asset treasury companies for price exposure, while venture dollars are flowing to infrastructure and stablecoin rails that are less sensitive to short-term volatility.
The political backdrop is also shifting in favour of builders. With a pro-crypto administration in Washington and the new GENIUS Act in force, US dominance in crypto startups is likely to grow if Congress advances a broader market structure bill.
Despite the market slump, the sector remains active and resilient, with capital still flowing to founders who can show real traction.
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