Crypto Funding Boom: $125M+ Flows into Web3, DeFi, AI, & Bitcoin Projects

Over the past week, the digital asset landscape witnessed a significant surge in capital inflows, with 21 distinct projects collectively securing nearly $125 million in investments. This robust funding activity, concentrated between May 24 and May 31, 2025, underscores continued investor confidence in the burgeoning Web3 ecosystem, particularly within the decentralized finance (DeFi) and centralized finance (CeFi) sectors. An additional two projects also confirmed investments without disclosing specific amounts.

Key Investment Rounds Highlighted

The majority of the week’s capital was channeled into innovative solutions across various segments, from payment infrastructure to AI-powered blockchain applications.

• Conduit emerged as a frontrunner, successfully closing a $36 million Series A funding round. Led by Dragonfly and Altos Ventures, with participation from Sound Ventures, Commerce Ventures, DCG, and Circle Ventures, this stablecoin-based payments platform aims to expand its global footprint and support a wider array of traditional and digital currencies.
• OpenFX secured $23 million to advance its stablecoin transaction platform. Backed by Accel, NFX, Lightspeed Faction, Castle Island Ventures, Flybridge, and Hash3, the company plans to extend its services into Latin America and Asia while launching new features.
• Beam, a payment service specializing in stablecoin processing, attracted $7 million in a round spearheaded by Castle Island Ventures, joined by Archetype, Bankless Ventures, Verda Ventures, and Arca. These funds will facilitate expansion into Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the EU, alongside integration with new payment systems and team growth.
• Donut, a studio developing an AI-integrated crypto browser for simplified blockchain interaction, raised $7 million in a pre-seed round. Sequoia, Bitkraft, and HackVC led this investment, with contributions from Matrix Partners, Sky9 Ventures, Makers Fund, SonicSVM, and angel investors. The capital will fuel the development of their namesake Donut cryptocurrency browser.
• Cooking.City, a Solana ecosystem token issuance platform, garnered $7 million from Jump, CMT Digital, Mirana, Bitscale Capital, and EVG.

Additional Noteworthy Investments

Several other projects also secured substantial capital to propel their development:

• K33, a Norwegian crypto firm, raised $6.23 million through equity, warrants, and convertible loans from existing investors. The funds are earmarked for establishing a Bitcoin treasury, expanding services, enhancing execution quality, increasing trading margins, launching Bitcoin-collateralized lending, and attracting institutional partners.
• Hyperdrive, an infrastructure project for stablecoin yield, received $6 million in a Series A round led by Hack VC and Arrington Capital, with additional backing from Delphi Digital, SIG, PROOF VC, Caladan, Amber Group, and CMS Holdings.
• Rumi, a company building decentralized AI infrastructure for media, closed a $4.7 million funding round led by a16z crypto and EV3.
• Oncade, a stablecoin-powered gaming platform, announced $4 million in capital, led by a16z crypto.
• Asigna, a Bitcoin project focused on multisig wallets, secured $3 million in a seed round led by Hivemind and Tykhe Block Ventures to launch a new product version.
• Naoris Protocol, developing quantum-resistant blockchain infrastructure and a decentralized cybersecurity network, attracted $3 million in strategic funding. Mason Labs led the round, with participation from Frekaz Group, Level One Robotics, and Tradecraft Capital, aiming to fortify security layers for Web3 and Web2.
• Ukrainian-founded AI startup Assisterr received $2.8 million from Google for Startups, Outlier Ventures, Web3.com, Echo.xyz, and Moonhill Capital to advance its decentralized AI economy.
• Dexari, a mobile application for decentralized trading, obtained $2.3 million in a seed funding round led by Prelude and Lemniscap.
• Dutch crypto asset management startup Blockrise secured $2.27 million in seed funding for product development, team scaling, and business expansion, though investor names remain undisclosed.
• Swedish medical startup H100 reported raising $2.2 million via 0% annual interest convertible loans, with Blockstream CEO Adam Back contributing $1.4 million. The funds will be used to acquire Bitcoin for its reserves.
• BlockSpaces, a Bitcoin infrastructure provider, attracted $2 million in strategic funding from Axiom Leadout Capital and Sand Harbor Capital, among others, to launch ARCC – a Bitcoin risk and collateral management platform for institutional clients.
• Canadian startup Stablecorp received $1.8 million for a major upgrade to QCAD, its Canadian dollar-pegged stablecoin. The round, led by Coinbase Ventures and Side Door Ventures, will support payment solutions and liquid on-chain markets.
• Mirage Protocol raised $1.6 million to build modular Move-based financial infrastructure, including the yield-bearing stablecoin mUSD and low-fee futures. Investors include Robot Ventures, Selini Capital, Native Group, Echo Dot, and Ambush Capital.
• Ducat, a project creating a Bitcoin-native stablecoin, received $1.5 million in investments, with Hivemind Capital leading the round alongside Native Crypto.
• Ego protocol attracted $800,000 in pre-seed funding from Slow Ventures, Solana, dYdX, Wintermute, Magic Eden, and Polygon, among others. The capital will fuel the development of tools for tokenizing internet identities and building a financial layer for digital personas, notably enabling token launches for any X-profile.
• Iqana, providing automated and secure digital asset access for institutional investors, closed a $624,000 pre-seed round. Investors included HEARTFELT_ and private individuals from JPMorganChase, Millennium, BCG, Esade BAN, and IESE Business School BAN. Funds will be used for product scaling, team expansion, regulatory approval, and entry into new European markets.

Undisclosed Investments and Broader Market Moves

Beyond the specified funding amounts, several other entities announced significant capital injections or strategic financial maneuvers:

• Investment firm YZi Labs invested in Avalon Labs, a Bitcoin-based startup developing a financial network for unlocking Bitcoin’s economic potential, offering solutions like lending and the USDa Bitcoin stablecoin.
• Venture fund Maelstrom Fund invested in Hyperion, a decentralized trading platform on Aptos.
• American investment firm Strive, founded by politician and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, successfully closed a $750 million private stock placement. This capital forms the foundation for launching a Bitcoin strategy aimed at generating alpha (returns exceeding market averages).
• Japanese investment company Metaplanet issued $21 million in bonds at a 0% interest rate to EVO FUND to bolster its Bitcoin reserves.
• Firm Twenty One, adopting a Bitcoin accumulation strategy similar to MicroStrategy, raised $100 million through the issuance of convertible secured bonds.

Investment Trends by Funds and Sector

The period saw particular funds actively deploying capital into the crypto space, reflecting a strategic interest in emerging technologies and financial infrastructures.

The top 5 funds by investment count from May 24 to May 31, according to CryptoRank data, were:

Fund Name	Number of Investments
Castle Island Ventures	3
a16z crypto	2
Hivemind Capital	2
Hack VC	2
Dragonfly	1

Funding flowed into diverse segments, including Web3, blockchain services, blockchain infrastructure, GameFi, DeFi, CeFi, and NFTs, demonstrating a broad spectrum of innovation attracting investment.

This recent period of investment follows a robust week from May 17 to May 24, where 20 projects collectively attracted $437.3 million, signaling a continued upward trend in digital asset funding.