Galaxy Reports Challenging Crypto Fundraising Environment

Crypto venture capital investment fell sharply to $1.97 billion in Q2 2025, a 59% quarterly decline, according to Galaxy Digital Research. The firmwide research head Alex Thorn noted the drop partly reflects an abnormal $2 billion investment in Binance during Q1 by UAE’s MGX fund; excluding that deal, the decline would have been 29%.

Galaxy’s Head of Research: Pre-Seed Crypto Deals Decline as Market Matures

According to Galaxy‘s second quarter venture capital (VC) analysis, later-stage deals captured 52% of capital, the second time since Q1 2021 they exceeded early-stage funding, signaling market maturity. Mining led sectors with $300 million invested—primarily in cloud-mining firm XY Miners—followed by privacy/security and infrastructure, Galaxy reported.

“Crypto VC activity remains depressed compared to prior bull markets,” Galaxy’s lead research, Alex Thorn, wrote. “Last quarter was the second smallest since Q4 2020 for venture investment into crypto and blockchain startups.”

Thorn added:

“The macro environment continues to deter allocators from investing in venture funds, and other vehicles like ETFs and now digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs) are competing with venture for investment.”

The U.S. dominated geographically, drawing 47.8% of capital and 41.2% of deals. The U.K. ranked second in both metrics. Pre-seed deal volume dipped slightly but remained relatively robust amid broader entrepreneurial activity.

Venture fundraising remained challenging, with $1.76 billion allocated to 21 new crypto funds. Galaxy’s Thorn attributed headwinds to macroeconomic factors, competition from spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs)/digital asset treasury companies (DATCOs), and investor pivot toward artificial intelligence (AI).

Galaxy’s analysis noted a persistent decoupling between bitcoin’s price surge and lagging venture activity, contrasting with historic correlations. Despite the slowdown, Thorn emphasized sustained deal flow in AI, infrastructure, and trading sectors underscores “active and healthy” underlying activity.