Group 1: Quarterly Momentum and Funding Trends - In Q1 2025, crypto venture investment reached approximately $4.8B, the highest since Q3 2022, followed by a dip to around $2.0B in Q2, and a rebound of approximately 47% QoQ to $13B in Q3 2025, indicating a return to early-2022 levels by mid-2025 [1][2] - By Q4 2025, year-to-date funding exceeded $30B, surpassing 2024's total by $21B, with Q3 2025 alone raising about $13B, the largest quarter since Q1 2022 [2][4] - The increase in capital deployment in 2025 was primarily driven by larger deal sizes rather than an increase in deal counts, with approximately 800+ startup VC deals in 2025 YTD, down about 13% from 2024 [2][3] Group 2: Deal Size and Stage Distribution - The deal size distribution from 2023 to 2025 shows a shift towards larger rounds, with deals under $10M accounting for over 75% of all activity in 2024, while this share fell to around 61% in 2025, indicating growth in the $10–50M and $50M+ segments [10][11] - Late-stage rounds accounted for approximately 45% of total capital in 2025, with about 10% of all deals exceeding $50M, signaling a return of large-check deployment [12][13] - The fundraising landscape shifted from 2023 to 2025, with late-stage rounds capturing the majority of total capital by mid-2025, while early-stage activity remained the core driver of deal count [15][24] Group 3: Sector Preferences and Emerging Narratives - Investor preferences have rotated significantly, with a focus on core infrastructure, financial plumbing, and new themes like real-world assets (RWA) and AI+crypto, moving away from previous hot areas like DeFi protocols and NFTs [26][30] - DeFi-related startups led all categories in H1 2025 with $6.2B raised, driven by stablecoin issuers and institutional DeFi, while infrastructure also saw significant funding, raising approximately $3.3B [30][32] - The AI-crypto convergence emerged as a credible niche in 2025, with around $0.7B raised, indicating a growing interest in AI-driven applications within the crypto space [36][37] Group 4: Geographic Distribution of Funding - The geographic distribution of crypto venture funding became more diverse from 2023 to 2025, with the US remaining the largest hub but gradually easing in dominance, capturing 31% of capital and 41% of deal count in 2025 [62][63] - Asia's footprint expanded sharply, collectively representing around 20–30% of global crypto VC funding by 2025, driven by rising CeFi hubs and gaming ecosystems [64][65] - Europe gained momentum after regulatory clarity with MiCA, hosting major DeFi teams and frequent Series A/B raises, contributing to a meaningful share of global VC flows [66][67] Group 5: Investor Behavior and Market Dynamics - The number of active US venture firms fell by more than 25% from 2021 to 2024, leading to a concentration of capital in a small core of repeat crypto-native and crossover investors [74][75] - By 2025, late-stage funding captured approximately 56% of capital, indicating a shift towards larger, more selective investments, with a clear barbell pattern emerging in funding behavior [78][90] - The market has matured significantly, with investors prioritizing fundamentals such as revenue traction and regulatory readiness, moving away from the speculative nature of previous cycles [92][94]