Author | Wu Says Blockchain
According to RootData statistics, in March 2025, a total of 74 venture capital projects were publicly disclosed by Crypto VC, a month-on-month decrease of 28.8% (from 104 projects in February 2025), and a year-on-year decrease of 61.3% (from 191 projects in March 2024). Note: Not all financing is announced in the same month, so the above statistics may increase in the future. In January of this year, the number of projects in each sector is as follows:
Among them, CeFi accounts for about 14.9%, DeFi accounts for about 27%, NFT/GameFi accounts for about 12.2%, L1/L2 accounts for about 8.1%, RWA/DePIN accounts for about 14.9%, Tool/Wallet accounts for about 6.8%, and AI accounts for about 14.9%.
In March 2025, the total financing amount reached $2.883 billion, a month-on-month increase of 198.1% (from $967 million in February 2025), and a year-on-year increase of 153.1% (from $1.139 billion in March 2024). Among these, the top 10 rounds by amount include 7 centralized platforms (exchanges or payment platforms):
Abu Dhabi MGX invested $2 billion in Binance on March 12, acquiring a minority stake. This transaction will be completed 100% in crypto assets (stablecoin), making it the largest crypto asset investment transaction to date. The main investor in Abu Dhabi MGX is the Abu Dhabi government of the UAE, fully controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Kraken acquired the U.S. futures trading platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion (subject to specific price adjustments) on March 20. NinjaTrader holds a CFTC-registered FCM license, enabling Kraken to offer crypto futures and derivatives trading in the U.S., while accelerating its expansion in European and Australian markets through Kraken's licenses in U.K. MiFID, EU MiFID, and Australia. Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that this transaction is an important step in building a 24/7, cross-asset institutional trading platform, achieving seamless integration between traditional finance and the crypto market.
Walrus Foundation completed a $140 million private token sale on March 20, led by Standard Crypto, with participation from multiple institutions including a16z crypto, Electric Capital, and Creditcoin. The funds will be used to expand and maintain a decentralized data storage protocol and application development platform. In addition, the Walrus mainnet will go live on March 27, supporting AI datasets, rich media files, websites, and blockchain history storage, promoting the widespread application of programmable storage to facilitate secure and efficient data management across various industries.
Metaplanet Inc. exercised its option to acquire the 13th tranche of stock options issued by EVO FUND on March 3, and a large-scale exercise of the 14th tranche of stock options also occurred. Additionally, the company has redeemed its 7th tranche of ordinary bonds (totaling 2 billion yen) ahead of schedule, which was originally due on August 26, 2025. The funding source aligns with the use adjustment plan announced on February 27, 2024. Metaplanet plans to use this funding to continue increasing its Bitcoin holdings.
Cryptocurrency payment company Mesh completed a $82 million Series B financing on March 11, aimed at expanding its stablecoin-based payment settlement network. This round was led by Paradigm, with participation from ConsenSys, QuantumLight, Yolo Investments, Evolution VC, Hike Ventures, Opportuna, and AltaIR Capital. Mesh aims to build a payment network connecting cryptocurrency wallets, exchanges, and payment service providers, allowing users to pay with crypto assets like BTC, ETH, SOL, while merchants can choose to settle in USDC, PYUSD, or RLUSD.
Flowdesk raised $52 million in Series B financing on March 4, with investors including HV Capital, BlackRock, Eurazeo, Cathay Innovation, and ISAI. Flowdesk is a French cryptocurrency market maker providing comprehensive crypto financial services. Its core business includes on-exchange market making, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and fund management.
Cross-chain interoperability protocol Across Protocol raised $41 million on March 4 by selling its Token ACX to investors, led by Paradigm, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and others. The latest round of financing brought Across's total financing amount to $51 million, following a $10 million Token financing round in November 2022.
Insurance company Tabit Insurance, founded by former Bittrex executives, completed a $40 million reserve fund on March 24, consisting of Bitcoin, to engage in traditional insurance and reinsurance businesses. Tabit Insurance primarily offers Bitcoin-backed liability insurance and is a regulated risk underwriting institution that relies on Bitcoin reserves to price traditional insurance in USD, holding a Level 2 insurance license issued by the Barbados Financial Services Commission.
RedotPay completed a $40 million Series A financing to support the deployment of global crypto payment solutions. This financing was completed in December 2024, led by Lightspeed and received significant investments from HSG and Galaxy Ventures.
Axelar Foundation completed a $30 million AXL sale on March 11 to enhance its interoperability protocol, with investors including Arrington Capital, Distributed Global, Electric Capital, and other well-known venture capital firms. Some of the AXL sold comes from community plan allocation, with a lock-up period of 6 to 12 months. In addition, OTC derivatives activity related to AXL has emerged in the market, with major holders adopting hedging strategies to cope with cryptocurrency market volatility, similar to practices in traditional finance.
