10 top crypto VCs share 2025 funding outlook Crypto venture capital funding rose 28% year-over-year in 2024, reaching around $13.7 billion, according to The Block Pro's Funding Dashboard. While this marked notable progress compared to 2023, the surge still fell short of previous peaks, despite this year's bullish momentum. Looking ahead to 2025, top crypto VCs are cautiously optimistic. While most agree that funding levels won't return to the highs of 2021-2022, a clear consensus has emerged: startups with strong product-market fit and tangible user adoption are best positioned to attract capital in the year ahead. Here's what leaders from Dragonfly, Pantera, Multicoin, Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs, Galaxy Ventures and others shared with The Block about their 2025 funding outlook. Dragonfly: Betting on DeFi, CeFi, stablecoins and more Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly, expects significant growth in crypto venture funding for 2025, driven by a loosening U.S. regulatory environment, potential continued token price appreciation and increased institutional capital deployment, he told The Block. However, Hadick doesn't see funding levels reaching the highs of 2021-2022 "for a very long time," — reflecting caution among VCs about repeating past mistakes. Dragonfly remains focused on backing top founders in areas with proven product-market fit, including decentralized finance (DeFi), scaling platforms, centralized finance (CeFi) and stablecoins/payments. While newer areas like crypto-AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) are on the radar, Hadick described these as "experiments" for now. Conversely, Hadick said, investment in categories like security, tokenization and interoperability may decline as the focus shifts to newer sectors. He also predicts challenges for decentralized social media, citing a lack of scalability and product-market fit. Pantera: Excited about crypto-AI, DePINs and new types of Layer 1 blockchains Lauren Stephanian, general partner at Pantera Capital, told The Block that crypto VC funding is expected to increase in 2025 as investors are more willing to deploy capital in pro-crypto administration in the United States. However, "bull markets can't last forever," so it remains to be seen "when we'll start to see deployment slow down within the next year," Stephanian said. Pantera is continuing to invest broadly in the crypto and blockchain sectors but is particularly excited about crypto-AI, DePINs, and new types of Layer 1 blockchains that enable more app-level functionality, Stephanian said. Multicoin: Continues to remain bullish on the Solana ecosystem Multicoin Capital is focusing on expanding its exposure to DeFi applications, particularly within the Solana ecosystem, which has outperformed the Ethereum and Layer 2 ecosystem in key on-chain metrics this year. "We expect this trend to continue and for Solana-based applications and protocols to be big winners in the next cycle as more users, capital, issuance, and activity migrates to Solana's ecosystem," Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, told The Block. Ethereum will continue to struggle and "may even slip into secular decline" as it faces significant competition from Solana and other faster and cheaper blockchains, Samani said. "Unless Ethereum can compete, developers, users and capital will migrate to other chains that better serve their needs," he added. Multicoin is also bullish on stablecoins, with Samani describing them as "likely one of the greatest technical and financial innovations of our lifetime." "Stablecoins have the opportunity to become a juggernaut in 2025," Samani said. "Everyone in the world wants U.S. dollars, and stablecoins are by far the most efficient way to get them. The design space is vast, and we're still relatively early in the adoption curve." Coinbase Ventures: Focused on the onchain economy Coinbase Ventures expects to be "very active in 2025 and beyond" and is well-positioned to seize market opportunities, its head, Hoolie Tejwani, told The Block. The firm is optimistic about constructive regulatory progress in the U.S., fueled by a pro-crypto Donald Trump administration and a supportive Congress entering office in January 2025. Tejwani said that Coinbase Ventures will continue investing broadly across the onchain economy, guided by "where the best and brightest builders are spending their nights and weekends." The firm is bullish on the application layer, where internet-scale applications are finally possible, thanks to maturing infrastructure. Areas of focus include stablecoin payments and finance, crypto-AI intersections, onchain consumer applications (such as social, gaming and creator apps) and innovations in DeFi.
10-top-crypto-vcs-share-2025-funding-outlook-crypto-venture-capital-funding-rose-28-year-over-year-in-2024-reaching-around-13-7-billion-according-to-the-block-pros-funding-dashboard-while-this-m

10 top crypto VCs share 2025 funding outlook

Crypto venture capital funding rose 28% year-over-year in 2024, reaching around $13.7 billion, according to The Block Pro's Funding Dashboard. While this marked notable progress compared to 2023, the surge still fell short of previous peaks, despite this year's bullish momentum.

Looking ahead to 2025, top crypto VCs are cautiously optimistic. While most agree that funding levels won't return to the highs of 2021-2022, a clear consensus has emerged: startups with strong product-market fit and tangible user adoption are best positioned to attract capital in the year ahead.

Here's what leaders from Dragonfly, Pantera, Multicoin, Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs, Galaxy Ventures and others shared with The Block about their 2025 funding outlook.

Dragonfly: Betting on DeFi, CeFi, stablecoins and more

Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly, expects significant growth in crypto venture funding for 2025, driven by a loosening U.S. regulatory environment, potential continued token price appreciation and increased institutional capital deployment, he told The Block. However, Hadick doesn't see funding levels reaching the highs of 2021-2022 "for a very long time," — reflecting caution among VCs about repeating past mistakes.

Dragonfly remains focused on backing top founders in areas with proven product-market fit, including decentralized finance (DeFi), scaling platforms, centralized finance (CeFi) and stablecoins/payments. While newer areas like crypto-AI and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs) are on the radar, Hadick described these as "experiments" for now.

Conversely, Hadick said, investment in categories like security, tokenization and interoperability may decline as the focus shifts to newer sectors. He also predicts challenges for decentralized social media, citing a lack of scalability and product-market fit.

Pantera: Excited about crypto-AI, DePINs and new types of Layer 1 blockchains

Lauren Stephanian, general partner at Pantera Capital, told The Block that crypto VC funding is expected to increase in 2025 as investors are more willing to deploy capital in pro-crypto administration in the United States.

However, "bull markets can't last forever," so it remains to be seen "when we'll start to see deployment slow down within the next year," Stephanian said.

Pantera is continuing to invest broadly in the crypto and blockchain sectors but is particularly excited about crypto-AI, DePINs, and new types of Layer 1 blockchains that enable more app-level functionality, Stephanian said.

Multicoin: Continues to remain bullish on the Solana ecosystem

Multicoin Capital is focusing on expanding its exposure to DeFi applications, particularly within the Solana ecosystem, which has outperformed the Ethereum and Layer 2 ecosystem in key on-chain metrics this year. "We expect this trend to continue and for Solana-based applications and protocols to be big winners in the next cycle as more users, capital, issuance, and activity migrates to Solana's ecosystem," Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital, told The Block.

Ethereum will continue to struggle and "may even slip into secular decline" as it faces significant competition from Solana and other faster and cheaper blockchains, Samani said. "Unless Ethereum can compete, developers, users and capital will migrate to other chains that better serve their needs," he added.

Multicoin is also bullish on stablecoins, with Samani describing them as "likely one of the greatest technical and financial innovations of our lifetime."

"Stablecoins have the opportunity to become a juggernaut in 2025," Samani said. "Everyone in the world wants U.S. dollars, and stablecoins are by far the most efficient way to get them. The design space is vast, and we're still relatively early in the adoption curve."

Coinbase Ventures: Focused on the onchain economy

Coinbase Ventures expects to be "very active in 2025 and beyond" and is well-positioned to seize market opportunities, its head, Hoolie Tejwani, told The Block. The firm is optimistic about constructive regulatory progress in the U.S., fueled by a pro-crypto Donald Trump administration and a supportive Congress entering office in January 2025.

Tejwani said that Coinbase Ventures will continue investing broadly across the onchain economy, guided by "where the best and brightest builders are spending their nights and weekends." The firm is bullish on the application layer, where internet-scale applications are finally possible, thanks to maturing infrastructure. Areas of focus include stablecoin payments and finance, crypto-AI intersections, onchain consumer applications (such as social, gaming and creator apps) and innovations in DeFi.