Crypto Fundraising Surges in H1 2025: Key Trends, Drivers, and Top Deals

The first half of 2025 witnessed a dramatic resurgence in crypto fundraising, with total deal value climbing 253% year-over-year to $18.19 billion across 779 deals—a modest 11% decline in deal count from H1 2024. This disparity underscores a market evolving toward consolidation, where investors prioritize fewer, larger bets on established infrastructure plays amid heightened selectivity. 

Market Drivers Behind the Funding Revival

Several external factors converged to propel this funding boom, transforming crypto from recovery mode into a high-growth engine. While these drivers explain the surge, they also highlight dependencies on volatile elements like asset prices and policy shifts.

1. Bitcoin's Rally and Institutional Momentum: Bitcoin's multiple all-time highs in H1 2025—surpassing $111,000 in May and building toward $124,457.12 by August—acted as a bellwether, drawing institutional capital and boosting valuations across the ecosystem. Spot Bitcoin ETFs and corporate accumulations (exceeding ETF inflows) injected liquidity, with historical halving cycles amplifying post-2024 gains. However, shallower drawdowns signal maturity, though risks of corrections loom if euphoria wanes.

2. Regulatory Tailwinds and Clarity: U.S. policy shifts under the new administration, including the GENIUS Act for stablecoins and relaxed SEC stances on registrations, reduced uncertainty and encouraged VC inflows. This pro-crypto environment, contrasting 2024's enforcement focus, facilitated deals in regulated sectors like CeFi, though global inconsistencies persist.

3. AI-Blockchain Synergies: Integrations of AI with blockchain for efficient mining, DeFi optimization, and data management captured investor interest, with Q1 alone seeing heightened activity in hybrid projects. This trend aligns with broader VC shifts, where AI drove 64% of global deal value in H1, spilling over into crypto infrastructure.

These elements collectively drove the market's momentum, with Q2's $10 billion haul marking the strongest quarter since early 2022.

Top 5 Crypto Funding Rounds in H1 2025

The standout deals were dominated by centralized finance (CeFi), blockchain services, and DeFi categories:

1. MoonPay (Centralized Finance - CeFi): MoonPay, a leading crypto payments infrastructure provider enabling fiat-to-crypto conversions, secured $200 million in debt financing in March 2025 from Galaxy Digital to bolster liquidity amid surging market activity.

2. Kalshi (Centralized Finance - CeFi): Kalshi, a regulated prediction market platform allowing users to bet on real-world events, raised $185 million in a Series C round in June 2025, led by Paradigm with participation from Sequoia Capital and Multicoin Capital, valuing the company at $2 billion.

3. Auradine (Blockchain Service): Auradine, a startup developing energy-efficient hardware for bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure, closed a $153 million Series C in April 2025, led by StepStone Group with backing from MARA, Mayfield, Premji Invest, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Qualcomm Ventures to expand its product lineup.

4. Phantom (Blockchain Service): Phantom, a popular self-custodial crypto wallet initially focused on the Solana ecosystem but expanding to multi-chain support, landed $150 million in a Series C in January 2025, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Paradigm with involvement from a16z and Variant, pushing its valuation to $3 billion.

5. ZenMEV (Decentralized Finance - DeFi): ZenMEV, a DeFi protocol optimizing maximal extractable value (MEV) extraction and redistribution on blockchains, obtained $140 million in a strategic round in April 2025 from VC VentureX to fuel global expansion and protocol enhancements.

These mega-rounds reflect capital concentration in foundational tools. As H2 2025 progresses, ongoing regulatory advancements and AI integrations could push totals toward record highs, though vigilance against volatility remains key.