- VC investment into crypto will almost double in 2025, analysts say.
- We spoke with five experts to find out what’s driving the rally.
Venture capital investments will return with a vengeance in 2025.
That’s according to VC firms and market watchers DL News has spoken with ahead of the new year.
But what will drive the rally and how much cash are investors looking to splash out?
Read on to find out.
Mike Giampapa, General Partner, Galaxy Ventures
With the most pro-crypto executive and legislative branches in US history coming into place, it’s hard to overstate the impact this can have on the crypto industry.
With a more favourable SEC, we expect to see fewer enforcement actions, more regulatory clarity, and an increased likelihood for blockchain businesses to be able to go public in the US.
We are also more optimistic than ever about banks being more open to engaging with crypto, the introduction of stablecoin legislation, and a broader crypto market infrastructure bill.
These measures would create the necessary transparency, guardrails, and protections for entrepreneurs and users across the industry.
Against this backdrop, the adoption of stablecoins and the usage of the underlying blockchains as financial rails are expected to accelerate in 2025.
Fintech companies — from new upstarts to incumbents and from consumer-facing to B2B businesses — will increasingly integrate with crypto rails to offer faster, cheaper, and more efficient financial services to their customers.
The applications for stablecoins will continue to grow beyond savings and payments to spending use cases. We expect merchant acquirers and card networks to increasingly enable crypto payments at checkout, allowing users to spend stablecoins just as easily as fiat.
Alex Botte, Partner, Hack VC
In 2025, we expect venture capital investment in crypto and blockchain to rise back toward previous highs.
Currently, VC investment still lags significantly behind the peaks seen in the first quarter of 2022, where roughly $12 billion was invested across approximately 1,350 deals, according to Galaxy data.
In the third quarter, those figures were $2.4 billion, a drop of80%, and spread across 478 deals (a 65% decrease).
This gap is at least partly due to the continued absence of traditional VCs and institutional investors, especially in the US.
Private markets, particularly early-stage VC investing, tend to lag behind liquid markets, which have seen major tokens like Bitcoin and Solana reach all-time highs recently.
However, as this market cycle matures and investor confidence rebounds, we expect VC capital to increase, potentially even surpassing previous highs.
Improved regulatory clarity in the US with the incoming pro-crypto Trump administration and Congress will likely attract more institutional players than in previous cycles, and VC investment will accelerate.
Robert Le, crypto analyst, Pitchbook
We predict 2025 will see a resurgence in VC investment into crypto, with total funding to surpass $18 billion for the year, along with multiple $5 billion quarters.
This will mark a significant recovery from the $9.9 billion yearly average and $2.5 billion quarterly average during the 2023 to 2024 period.
This will likely be fuelled by macroeconomic stabilisation, institutional adoption, and the return of generalist VCs.
Heavyweights like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs will likely increase their participation in crypto, which in return will enhance investor confidence and regulatory trust, paving the way for broader institutional participation.
Their involvement could drive mainstream adoption and attract asset managers, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds into crypto.
Generalist VCs, returning after a period of retreat, will shift the focus toward startups demonstrating traditional metrics like recurring revenue and measurable traction.
This approach may catalyse a broader convergence of crypto with AI, fintech, and traditional finance, emphasising sustainable growth over speculative investments.
Improved global liquidity and declining interest rates will further boost VC funding, with rising token prices aligning public and venture markets.
However, this optimistic scenario hinges on regulatory stability, particularly in the US, and consistent macroeconomic conditions.”
Karl Martin Ahrend, founding partner, Areta
For 2025, we are expecting a surge in M&A and IPOs, which will highlight a transformative shift in the industry.
Traditional financial institutions are increasingly entering the space, seeking exposure to crypto projects with strong product-market fit. These firms often lack the expertise to build solutions internally, driving a wave of partnerships and acquisitions.
At the same time, political tailwinds, including the potential for a crypto-friendly SEC under new leadership, are creating optimism for clearer regulations. This regulatory clarity, paired with advancements in security, has bolstered investor confidence, paving the way for more public offerings and strategic deals.
Looking ahead, this intersection of institutional interest and favourable regulatory shifts will likely continue fuelling M&A and IPO activity, shaping the industry’s future.
The insights above have been edited for clarity.
Eric Johansson and Liam Kelly cover crypto funding trends for DL News. Got a tip? Email them at eric@dlnews.com and liam@dlnews.com.
