Crypto Fundraising Hits Record-Highs in 2025 with Tokenless Trend Emerging

By: Isha Das

Crypto fundraising has reached unprecedented levels in 2025, amassing $16.5 billion in the first half of the year alone, as highlighted in a recent report. This exceeds previous records, including the $12.2 billion for the entire year of 2024 and the $10.9 billion in 2021, during the notable bull run era. Notably, this surge represents 5.3% of global venture capital activity for Q2 2025, marking the highest share in the last three years, signifying a heightened interest post-regulatory shifts and surging adoption trends.

A noteworthy trend in 2025 is the gradual transition of investors focusing on quality over quantity in their ventures. The average deal size has escalated to nearly $20 million, denoting a preference for fewer projects operated by experienced teams with credible business frameworks. This confidence coincides with an increase in tokenless fundraising, with 82% of funded projects opting not to launch tokens. Instead, they emphasize developing authentic products, achieving sustainable revenues, and concentrating on long-term fundamentals.

The report also sheds light on the areas receiving the most funding. Finance-related projects, covering CeFi and DeFi, commanded $4.9 billion across 171 deals, which constituted 51.4% of total investments. Infrastructure-focused ventures, including hardware and security, garnered 17.9%, while sectors like consumer applications, artificial intelligence, and DePin followed with 14.7%, 5.0%, and 3.1%, respectively.

In addition, the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the crypto industry has silently intensified, exceeding $6 billion, which is more than triple the figure from the previous year. This trend highlights a shift towards industry consolidation, where entities focus on acquiring existing technologies and platforms to bolster user growth and strengthen strategic positioning.