Cryptocurrency venture capital performance was weak in November, with only a few significant financings driving the total amount, and overall trading activity reached one of its lowest points this year.
Venture capital funding in the cryptocurrency industry remained sluggish in November, continuing a broader slowdown expected to last until the end of 2025. Trading activity once again focused on a small number of large-scale financings conducted by mature companies. A similar trend appeared in the third quarter: data from Galaxy Digital showed that total financing rose to $4.65 billion, but the number of transactions lagged, with funds primarily flowing to larger, more mature companies.
Source: Galaxy Digital The funding and trading activity in crypto venture capital remain far below levels seen in previous bull markets.
November also reflected the same divergence. Data from RootData shows that only 57 rounds of crypto financing were disclosed this month — one of the weakest figures this year — despite the notable $1 billion financing for Revolut and $800 million for Kraken before its anticipated IPO. According to RootData statistics, most transactions in November focused on centralized finance, decentralized finance, and the NFT-GameFi industry.
While the slowdown in trading volume is partly attributed to broader market conditions, this trend brings longer-term risks, said Sarah Austin, co-founder of the physical asset gaming platform Titled. She told Cointelegraph: 'Ultimately, this has a negative impact on the entire industry, as investments during tough times are the products of the best deals.'
The latest issue of VC Roundup highlights three financing deals in the decentralized perpetual equity, on-chain yield, and Web3-AI industries.
Ostium secured $24 million for the expansion of its on-chain perpetual protocol
Ostium is a decentralized perpetual asset platform founded by former Harvard classmates, which has raised $24 million in new funding to expand its on-chain perpetual protocol to non-crypto markets such as stocks, commodities, indices, and currencies. This financing supports the company's broader push to position Ostium as a leading perpetual protocol for real-world assets, expanding access to traditional markets through self-custody infrastructure.
Ostium stated that this funding will be used to strengthen its underlying systems, including smart contracts, pricing infrastructure, and liquidity engines, to support higher trading volumes. The company has received investor support from General Catalyst, Jump Crypto, Susquehanna International Group, and angel investors from Bridgewater, Two Sigma, and Brevan Howard.
Axis raised $5 million for its on-chain yield protocol
On-chain yield protocol Axis raised $5 million in a private financing round led by Galaxy Ventures, as the company prepares to launch an on-chain yield protocol offering exposure to assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), gold, and US dollars. Axis stated that this capital will support the development of what it describes as a transparent on-chain yield infrastructure for digital assets. This round also included participation from several investors such as OKX Ventures, Maven 11 Capital, CMS Holdings, and FalconX.
Axis stated that it has invested $100 million of private capital from investors through its testing platform to stress test the protocol engine.
PoobahAI completed a $2 million seed round for its no-code platform
PoobahAI is a Texas-based startup that helps users build tokenized Web3 networks and AI agents without writing code, having raised $2 million in seed funding to expand its no-code development platform. The company's tools are designed to allow creators, developers, and businesses to launch on-chain ecosystems and deploy AI agents without technical expertise.
The emerging AI-Web3 ecosystem combines artificial intelligence with decentralized infrastructure, seen as a means to create more autonomous, user-controlled digital systems that can operate without centralized regulation. This round is led by the venture capital firm FourTwoAlpha, known for its early investments in Ethereum and Cosmos.
This article is reprinted with permission from: (Marsbit)
Original title: (VC Roundup: Big money, few deals as crypto venture funding dries up)
Original author: Sam Bourgi, Cointelegraph
Translation: White55, Mars Finance
The article titled 'Are all the funds flowing to the giants? The truth about crypto financing in November: large transactions support the scene' was first published in 'Crypto City'
