Crypto Venture Capital: 61 Fundraising Rounds in June, a Six-Year Low

A chill on crypto venture capital. June saw only 61 funding rounds concluded, according to data from CryptoRank. The last time there were fewer was in November 2020, with 49 operations. The record of March 2022, with 218 rounds, belongs to a different era.

Money, however, has not deserted the scene: $1.44 billion was still deployed during the month. Simply put, this capital is concentrated on a smaller number of deals and signatories.

Key Points

• 61 funding rounds in June, the lowest monthly total since November 2020 and its 49 operations, down from 89 in May
• 651 active investors in the second quarter, compared to 2,564 at the peak of 2022, meaning three out of four signatories are gone
• $1.44 billion raised in June, while mergers and acquisitions reached $7.23 billion for the quarter
• Paradigm closed a $1.2 billion fund, open to AI and robotics in addition to crypto

The monthly count leaves little room for interpretation: 61 operations in June compared to 89 in May, representing a 31.5% decline in four weeks and a volume 52% lower than the monthly average. The curve of participants follows the same downward trend. In the second quarter, 651 unique entities participated in a fundraising or token sale, the lowest quarterly level in six years.

The comparison with the peak of 2022 stings: there were 2,564 signing checks then. Three out of four investors have left the table since. Only 2020, with 250 to 450 participants per quarter, performed worse, at a time when crypto venture capital was still held within a handful of specialized funds.

Market sentiment does not encourage generosity. Bitcoin hovers around $65,000 at the end of July, down nearly 27% since January, after a 21-month low flirting with $60,000. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies hovers around $2.3 trillion. Funds are arbitraging, sorting, and pushing back the most speculative seed deals.

Fewer signed tickets, significantly heavier checks

The scarcity of operations does not equate to a drought. The monthly pace of 2026 resembles a roller coaster:

• January: $1.14 billion
• February: $896.3 million
• March: $2.2 billion for about 85 operations, the best count of the semester
• April: $698.2 million
• May: $3.89 billion, the semester's peak
• June: $1.44 billion for 61 rounds

The bulk of the flow is now directed towards a few mature deals. Digital Asset, the company behind the Canton network, raised $355 million led by a16z crypto, exceeding its initial target of $300 million, with ABN Amro, BNP Paribas, Apollo, and the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund at the table. Mergers and acquisitions are taking over, and not just a little: $272 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, $2.14 billion in the first quarter, then $7.23 billion in the second, representing twenty-six times more capital in six months. The acquisition of Equiniti by Bullish, for $4.2 billion, accounts for a significant portion of the total. Payments dominate in value, predictive markets capture 17.6% of the capital, and DeFi maintains the lead in the number of operations with 57 rounds, for only $654 million over the semester.

Paradigm raises $1.2 billion and expands its target

Who is still signing? In the first half, Coinbase Ventures leads in the number of operations with 30 participations, ahead of Animoca Brands (19), a16z crypto (18), and Tether (15). In June, a16z crypto led the most rounds, including the two largest of the month, Digital Asset and Morpho Labs. Exchange platforms, stablecoin issuers, and major Web3 operators continue to deploy while generalist funds are easing off.

On July 8, Paradigm closed its fourth vehicle at $1.2 billion, its largest raise since the $2.5 billion in November 2021, but below the $1.5 billion target mentioned in February by the Wall Street Journal. The fund is no longer purely crypto: artificial intelligence, robotics, and other disruptive technologies are now within its investment scope.

The fund's portfolio remains anchored in crypto market infrastructures: Hyperliquid, Kalshi, Tempo, Morpho. And the July count is underway: $1.2 billion for about 25 funding rounds by the 20th of the month, representing an average ticket close to $48 million, more than double the $23 million in June. With Paradigm's dry powder on one side and one of the largest global market makers entering the capital of a public exchange platform on the other, there is no shortage of ammunition for the end of the year.

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