Crypto VC is back, baby — and it just hit its biggest glow-up since 2022.
According to Galaxy’s May 1 report, venture capital funding in crypto soared to a jaw-dropping $4.9 billion in Q1 2025, a 40% bounce from the previous quarter. And while it sounds like the bull run is back in full swing, spoiler alert: one giga-deal seriously skewed the numbers.
That one monster move? MGX dropped a massive $2B bag into Binance, single-handedly making up 40%+ of the entire quarter’s total funding. Without that flex, the numbers would’ve looked way less exciting — just $2.8B, actually down 20% from Q4 2024.
Binance’s Power Play Flips the Chart
Thanks to MGX’s mega-investment, Trading, Exchange, Lending, and Investing shot to the top of the funding food chain, pulling in $2.55B — a wild 47.9% spike. But if you delete Binance from the equation, DeFi would’ve worn the crown with $763M raised.
Web3’s Still Grinding
Even though the money was heavy on the Binance side, Web3 startups dominated in deal count with 73 closed — think gaming, NFTs, DAOs, and all things metaverse. Trading firms came in next with 62 deals.
Here’s the plot twist: For the first time since 2021, most of that VC cash went to the big leagues — 65% of funding landed in Series A and beyond. Early-stage and pre-seed plays are still alive, just taking a bit of a breather as VCs get pickier.
US Still the Main Stage, But Global Players Are Rising
The U.S. is holding strong, scooping up 38.6% of the total deals. The U.K., Singapore, and UAE are also pulling weight, taking 8.6%, 6.4%, and 4.4% respectively.
Galaxy also noted that Bitcoin price action and VC funding are vibing again, which hasn’t really been the case for a while. So maybe we’re seeing a new pattern emerge?
It’s Not All Easy Street
Still, it’s not totally sunshine and altcoins. Crypto fundraising is still a grind, especially with AI grabbing all the hype and investor cash right now. Crypto-specific funds only raised $1.9B this quarter, which is solid — but clearly shows we’re not in full turbo mode yet.
Even so, Galaxy says 2025 is on track to outdo 2024 in total VC raises. That’s bullish.
Top Crypto VCs of the Moment
In case you’re wondering who’s running the crypto VC game right now, here’s the top 5 per Kaito AI:
- Paradigm – 11.80% performance 🥇
- Alliance – 10.64%
- Dragonfly – 8.32% (they’re in AVAX and NEAR, FYI)
- a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) – 6.94%
- Multicoin Capital – 5.86%
Projects like Story Protocol, Manta Network, Pump.fun, Coinbase, Uniswap, and Dapper Labs are all in their portfolios.
Also Read: Breaking ! Trader’s $111K Loss in 5 Minutes Highlights the Dangers of FOMO in Crypto