VC Roundup: Big money, few deals as crypto venture funding dries up

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Venture superior backing successful the cryptocurrency assemblage remained muted successful November, continuing a broader slowdown that has persisted done precocious 2025. Deal enactment was erstwhile again concentrated successful a tiny fig of ample raises by established companies.

As Cointelegraph antecedently reported, the 3rd 4th saw a akin pattern: full backing climbed to $4.65 billion, according to Galaxy Digital, but woody counts lagged arsenic superior flowed chiefly to bigger, much mature firms.

November reflected the aforesaid divergence. Figures from RootData showed lone 57 disclosed crypto backing rounds during the period — 1 of the weakest tallies of the twelvemonth — contempt headline-grabbing raises specified arsenic Revolut’s $1 cardinal round and Kraken’s $800 cardinal raise up of its anticipated archetypal nationalist offering.

According to RootData, the bulk of deals successful November were successful the centralized finance, decentralized finance, and NFT–GameFi sectors.

While immoderate of the slowdown successful woody measurement tin beryllium attributed to broader marketplace conditions, the inclination poses longer-term risks, said Sarah Austin, co-founder of the real-world-asset gaming level Titled. “Ultimately, this has a antagonistic effect connected the full manufacture due to the fact that investing successful pugnacious times is erstwhile the champion deals are made,” she told Cointelegraph.

The latest variation of VC Roundup highlights conscionable 3 backing deals crossed the decentralized perpetuals, onchain-yield and Web3–AI sectors.

Ostium secures $24 cardinal to standard onchain perpetuals protocol

Ostium, a decentralized perpetuals level founded by erstwhile Harvard classmates, has raised $24 cardinal successful caller backing to standard its onchain perpetuals protocol crossed non-crypto markets specified arsenic stocks, commodities, indexes and currencies.

The rise supports the company’s broader propulsion to presumption Ostium arsenic a starring perpetuals protocol for real-world assets, expanding entree to accepted markets done self-custodial infrastructure.

Ostium said the superior volition spell toward strengthening its underlying systems, including astute contracts, pricing infrastructure and liquidity engines, to enactment higher trading volumes.

The institution is backed by investors including General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Susquehanna International Group, and angel investors from Bridgewater, Two Sigma and Brevan Howard.

Axis raises $5 cardinal for onchain output protocol

Onchain gross protocol Axis has raised $5 cardinal successful a backstage backing circular led by Galaxy Ventures, arsenic the institution prepares to motorboat an onchain output protocol offering vulnerability to Bitcoin (BTC), golden and the US dollar. Axis said the superior volition enactment the improvement of what it describes arsenic a transparent, onchain output infrastructure for integer assets.

The circular besides included information from OKX Ventures, Maven 11 Capital, CMS Holdings and FalconX, among different investors.

Axis said that $100 cardinal successful backstage superior from investors has already been deployed done its beta level to stress-test the protocol’s engine.

PoobahAI closes $2 cardinal effect circular for no-code platform

PoobahAI, a Texas-based startup that enables users to physique tokenized Web3 networks and AI agents without penning code, has raised $2 cardinal successful effect backing to grow its no-code improvement platform. The company’s tools are designed to fto creators, developers and businesses motorboat onchain ecosystems and deploy AI agents without method expertise.

The emerging AI–Web3 ecosystem, which combines artificial quality with decentralized infrastructure, is viewed arsenic a means to make much autonomous and user-controlled integer systems, enabling applications to run without centralized oversight.

The circular was led by FourTwoAlpha, a task steadfast known for aboriginal investments successful Ethereum and Cosmos.

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