Venture capital funding for blockchain startups reached $13.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a notable recovery from the $10.1 billion seen in 2023, according to a DeFi Report.
Venture capital funding for blockchain startups reached $13.6 billion in 2024, reflecting a notable recovery from the $10.1 billion seen in 2023, according to a DeFi Report. While this marks progress, the industry remains far below the 2021 peak of $32.4 billion. Analysts at Galaxy Research and PitchBook project a substantial increase in 2025, with funding expected to surpass $18 billion. This growth is attributed to declining interest rates, increased regulatory clarity, and renewed interest from generalist investors.
Several major funding rounds in 2024 highlighted the sector's resilience. Monad Labs secured $225 million to develop its layer-1 smart contract network, while Berachain raised $100 million for its modular blockchain platform. Securitize, a tokenization platform, received $47 million from BlackRock, and Bitcoin staking protocol Babylon raised $70 million. Usual, a French stablecoin startup, raised $10 million from Binance Labs and Kraken Ventures. Its stablecoin, Usual USD, backed by real-world assets, held over $1.7 billion in total value locked (TVL) by the end of 2024.
Avalon Labs closed a $10 million Series A round led by Framework Ventures to scale its Bitcoin-backed DeFi ecosystem. The company supports over 20,000 Bitcoin and serves more than 200,000 users. Similarly, Accountable, a crypto data platform, raised $2.3 million to enhance its privacy-focused data-sharing technology, leveraging cryptographic tools to serve institutional and retail clients.
Thena, a decentralized exchange on the BNB Chain, also received funding from Binance Labs to expand its cross-chain operations. The platform uses the "ve(3,3)" tokenomics model and reported a TVL of $63 million at the end of the year.
Analysts expect 2025 to shift investment focus from infrastructure projects to decentralized applications (DApps) and real-world use cases, such as mobility and energy data. These applications aim to attract non-crypto users by offering improved usability and risk management.
The regulatory landscape remains crucial. Robert Le of PitchBook anticipates reduced enforcement actions under the incoming U.S. administration, with potential legislative progress on stablecoins and crypto-specific rules. Even in the absence of new regulations, a stable environment could bolster investor confidence.
The combination of institutional involvement, the return of generalist investors, and a shift to application-focused investments is expected to propel the crypto sector forward. As Alex Thorn and Gabe Parker of Galaxy Research noted, "crypto VC fundraising has historically lagged broader crypto market trends," but the next year is poised for significant "catch-up." With a projected $18 billion in funding, 2025 may mark a turning point for the industry.
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