In the first half of 2026, funding for crypto startups reached $11.2 billion, across 377 rounds—nearly all of it flowing to licensed businesses such as payments and stablecoins, prediction markets, and exchanges. Capital is no longer chasing idealism around “permissionless” ventures; it’s chasing compliance-ready companies that can obtain licenses and be integrated into traditional finance’s operating pipelines. Institutions including BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Apollo, HSBC, and Abu Dhabi’s ADIA wrote checks. Mastercard even directly acquired stablecoin payments firm BVNK for $1.8 billion. This indicates that the money isn’t something retail traders stirred up—it’s Wall Street that has re-priced crypto as a “regulated financial instrument.”
Why now? With the U.S. “GENIUS Act” taking effect, Europe’s MiCA framework moving into execution, and Hong Kong issuing its first batch of stablecoin licenses, global regulatory logic is converging: risks are visible, and accountability is traceable. Licenses have shifted from “footnotes” to core assets in valuation. Code can be forked over a weekend, but a VARA or MiCA license typically takes 18–24 months and millions of dollars to acquire—this kind of “time moat” is precisely where big capital is willing to pay a premium.
What about the market? In the first half, BTC📉 pulled back about 33% from its peak, and ETH📉 fell even more sharply. But BNB📈 held up relatively better thanks to Binance’s ecosystem and its early advantage in tokenized stocks. BNB Chain also became the only mainstream L1 with a deflationary trajectory. In the short term, regulatory tailwinds have been realized and institutions are building positions, so BTC📈 is likely to remain range-bound but biased upward. In the medium term, if the Federal Reserve maintains a loose liquidity stance and the expansion of compliant licenses continues, the three major coins—BTC, ETH, and BNB📈—have room for a structural repricing. However, macro volatility and sell-pressure from unlocks could trigger📉 pullbacks at any time. This isn’t a “broad-based bull run.” It’s a battle for existing shares led by compliance-focused giants—there’s a lot of money, but it only goes to those who can understand the value of licenses.#加密初创上半年融资112亿美元
$BTC
$ETH
$BNB
Why now? With the U.S. “GENIUS Act” taking effect, Europe’s MiCA framework moving into execution, and Hong Kong issuing its first batch of stablecoin licenses, global regulatory logic is converging: risks are visible, and accountability is traceable. Licenses have shifted from “footnotes” to core assets in valuation. Code can be forked over a weekend, but a VARA or MiCA license typically takes 18–24 months and millions of dollars to acquire—this kind of “time moat” is precisely where big capital is willing to pay a premium.
What about the market? In the first half, BTC📉 pulled back about 33% from its peak, and ETH📉 fell even more sharply. But BNB📈 held up relatively better thanks to Binance’s ecosystem and its early advantage in tokenized stocks. BNB Chain also became the only mainstream L1 with a deflationary trajectory. In the short term, regulatory tailwinds have been realized and institutions are building positions, so BTC📈 is likely to remain range-bound but biased upward. In the medium term, if the Federal Reserve maintains a loose liquidity stance and the expansion of compliant licenses continues, the three major coins—BTC, ETH, and BNB📈—have room for a structural repricing. However, macro volatility and sell-pressure from unlocks could trigger📉 pullbacks at any time. This isn’t a “broad-based bull run.” It’s a battle for existing shares led by compliance-focused giants—there’s a lot of money, but it only goes to those who can understand the value of licenses.#加密初创上半年融资112亿美元
$BTC
$ETH
$BNB