VC Cash Returns to Crypto: $3.3 Billion in September Alone Across 77 Deals

According to DefiLlama data, 77 crypto companies in September. This brings the total crypto sector funding in 2025 thus far to over $17 billion, outpacing all of 2024 by more than $7 billion.

Some of the most notable crypto companies involved in funding include:

From the looks of it, the surge in fundraising is a signal that big institutional players like BlackRock, Fidelity, General Catalyst, and Dragoneer are increasingly moving toward crypto infrastructure and startup investments.

Interestingly, last week, that Kraken is in talks to raise fresh capital at a valuation of roughly $20 billion, with $200 – 300 million potentially coming from strategic investors.

Over $20 billion has flowed into crypto treasury firms in 2025, pointing to the fact that firms holding crypto on their balance sheets or managing crypto assets are in a boom phase.

It’s worth noting, though, that not every funding announcement is a done deal, and concerns regarding market saturation persist.

Instead of many small investments, we’re now seeing fewer, much larger deals, suggesting that the crypto funding scene is changing. This means that startups are now expected to show more proof before attracting capital, and investors are placing bigger bets on fewer, stronger prospects.

Because several big deals get most of the money, funding heavily favors projects that are already successful, well-connected, or backed by big funds, making the strong even stronger.

Also, investors putting their capital into the core technology, such as Layer 1/2 protocols, developer tools, and real-world asset (RWA) platforms, indicates that investors are betting on the next wave of utility rather than just tokens.

All this investment money flowing into companies helps the entire crypto market since some of it finds its way into public token trading, which can improve market mood and trading activity.