Crypto venture capital deals in the first quarter of 2025 saw deal values jump even as the number of deals sank from the same quarter a year ago, says PitchBook.
The venture research firm said in its May 14 Crypto VC Trends report for Q1 that 405 deals were made in the quarter, down 39.5% from the 670 deals made in Q1 2024, but slightly up from the 372 made in Q4 last year.
However, the total value of deals in Q1 more than doubled from a year ago, jumping to $6 billion compared to $2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024 and doubling from $3 billion in Q4 2024.
PitchBook’s senior crypto research analyst Robert Le said that despite macroeconomic turmoil over the quarter, “capital continued to seek crypto’s core utility rails.”
VCs poured nearly $2.55 billion across 16 deals into businesses like crypto asset managers, exchanges, and financial services at a rate that far surpassed any other segment.
Crypto infrastructure and development firms saw the next largest venture funding, fetching nearly $955 million across 30 deals.
Looking ahead, PitchBook’s Le said Circle’s pending initial public offering (IPO) “represents the most important price-discovery event for crypto equity since Coinbase listed in 2021.”
If Circle is valued above the rumored $4 billion to $5 billion range, it could show venture investors that business models similar to Circle’s are profitable and sustainable while also providing a clearer benchmark for future exits.
“A strong roadshow could therefore crowd in new late-stage capital and reset valuation expectations upward across the payments and infrastructure stack.”
Circle has raised $1.18 billion in VC funding to date, according to PitchBook, which estimates a 64% chance that it will go public in the future.
“Dollar-denominated settlement remains crypto’s killer application”
Le noted that the market value of stablecoins grew 12% over the first quarter, from $202.3 billion to $227.1 billion, even as other cryptocurrencies saw their values fall or stagnate.
“In our view, this divergence underscores a growing consensus: Dollar-denominated settlement remains crypto’s killer application, insulated—at least partially— from broader risk-off moves.”
Le said PitchBook expected that near-term venture investments could increase, “especially in payment, remittance, and treasury-management startups that directly monetize stablecoin velocity.”
Related: Bitcoin builders defend venture capital’s role in layer-2 growth
Le added that the $1.4 billion Bybit exploit in February — the largest in crypto history — may accelerate institutional demand for real-time proof-of-reserve tooling, improved custody solutions and middleware that simplifies key management.
“Startups addressing those vectors should find a more receptive funding environment despite the broader valuation reset,” he added.
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