Venture money pulls back
Venture funds are getting pickier on crypto — investors now demand clear traction and verifiable on‑chain data, says Transak founder Sami Start (x.com). (x.com) (x.com) Blocsys says funding has contracted since 2021 highs and capital is steering toward DeFi, tokenized assets and infrastructure, while INFINI Business is surfacing as a way for startups to fund operations directly from crypto holdings (x.com). (x.com)
Transak’s CEO Sami Start speaks from a company that raised a $16 million strategic round led by Tether and IDG Capital in 2025. (theblock.co) Transak reports stablecoins make up a sizable share of its flows and its fiat‑on/off ramp API serves hundreds of integrations across dozens of countries, underscoring why investors focusing on payments and settlement rails are selective. (btcc.com) Industry data show venture capital into crypto peaked around $29–33 billion in 2021 and fell to roughly $10.7–13.7 billion in the 2023–2024 window, illustrating the scale of the funding contraction founders cite. (theblock.co) VCs and allocators are increasingly demanding verifiable, machine‑readable proof of activity — firms now use on‑chain analytics platforms such as Nansen for portfolio due diligence and signal discovery. (nansen.ai) Protocol‑level proof systems and “proof of compliance” standards are gaining traction as a way to supply that verifiable evidence, with projects and vendors publishing on‑chain attestations for reserves, KYC signals and other compliance checks. (chain.link) Separate market reports signal capital rotating toward infrastructure, DeFi primitives and tokenized real‑world assets, and Q4 2025 saw a pickup in late‑stage and infrastructure allocations after earlier pullbacks. (galaxy.com) Startups are already experimenting with new treasury options: Infini/INFINI Business advertises instant crypto‑to‑fiat settlement and automated payroll/vendor payouts that let companies operate directly off stablecoin balances. (infini.money) Analysts tracking 2026 trends expect on‑chain private credit and tokenized financing to expand as an alternative to traditional VC rounds, offering startups routes to tap crypto holdings without depending solely on institutional venture checks. (cryptollia.com)
