Quick Breakdown:
- August 2025 crypto funding totaled $4.87B across 81 deals, with major investments in DeFi, AI, and CeFi sectors.
- Galaxy Digital led with $1.4B for its Helios AI data center; Bullish completed a $1.15B stablecoin-based IPO.
- Other notable deals included Peter Thiel’s ETHZilla stake, SharpLink Gaming $400M raise, and Ripple’s $200M Rail acquisition.
August 2025 brought notable shifts in crypto venture capital, according to RootData. The month recorded 81 publicly disclosed funding rounds, up 6.6% from July but down 29.6% year-on-year. Total financing reached $4.87 billion—a 9.2% decline from July, yet a staggering 546.6% increase compared with August 2024. Investments spanned DeFi (24.7%), AI (23.5%), CeFi (14.8%), Layer 1/Layer 2 networks (11.1%), RWA/DePIN projects (9.9%), NFT/GameFi (6.2%), and wallets/tools (3.7%).
Major Deals Spotlight Stablecoins and AI Infrastructure
Galaxy Digital led the month with $1.4 billion in debt financing for its Helios AI data centre in Texas, boosting high-performance computing and AI infrastructure. Bullish (NYSE: BLSH) completed a $1.15 billion IPO entirely settled in stablecoins—including USDCV, EURCV, USDG, and RLUSD—marking the first U.S. IPO conducted in digital dollars. Peter Thiel’s investment team acquired a 7.5% stake in Ethereum treasury platform ETHZilla, reinforcing its strategic exposure to ETH treasury management.
Other notable deals included SharpLink Gaming raising $400 million to grow its ETH treasury above $3 billion, Heritage Distilling securing $220 million in cash and IP tokens, and London-based Satsuma Technology raising $218 million via convertible bonds, partially settled in Bitcoin. Ripple announced plans to acquire Rail, a stablecoin payments platform, for $200 million to expand its cross-border payment solutions.
AI and DeFi Lead Sector Growth
DeFi Development Corp. raised $125 million to bolster its Solana treasury, while IVIX secured $60 million for AI-powered risk management solutions in crypto networks. Visa-backed Rain closed a $58 million Series B, increasing its valuation nearly sixfold to $2.45 billion, with annual card transaction volume surpassing $1 billion. Notably, Galaxy Digital’s venture arm, led by Mike Novogratz, exceeded its fundraising goal for its latest fund, signaling renewed institutional confidence in blockchain and crypto startups despite ongoing market volatility.
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