Summary

• According to Cryptorank Dashboard data as of June 3, 2025, the Web3 industry recorded 122 fundraising deals in May 2025, with a total amount of $1.92 billion.
• The Top 10 projects indicate that leading Web3 capital is primarily flowing into CeFi, blockchain services, and infrastructure sectors. Traditional financial tools such as M&A and PIPE investments have appeared frequently, signaling the accelerating integration of Web3 and TradFi (Traditional Finance).
• Fundraising was heavily concentrated on CeFi ($1.29 billion) and blockchain services ($274 million), with CeFi dominating the market. This highlights institutional capital’s growing focus on regulatory compliance, service capability, and integration paths with TradFi.
• The funding size distribution showed a “mid-range concentration, declining at both ends” pattern, with projects raising between $3 million and $10 million accounting for 32.9%, indicating a risk-averse environment where capital favors medium-sized projects with proven traction and growth potential.
• In terms of funding stage distribution, there is a structural pattern of active early-stage project participation but capital concentration in mid-to-late stages. Seed and strategic rounds made up 64.9% of all projects, while Series A and B rounds accounted for 60.9% of total funding, reflecting a dual-track strategy of early exploration and structured capital deployment.
• At the institutional level, Alliance DAO led the pack with investments in 6 projects, mainly in DeFi, but also spanning infrastructure and on-chain services, reflecting its dual-focus strategy on financial and technical foundations.

Financing Overview

According to Cryptorank data released on June 3, 2025, the Web3 industry completed 122 fundraising deals in May 2025, with a total fundraising amount of $1.92 billion.【1】Due to differences in Cryptorank’s statistical methodology, this figure differs from the sum of individually disclosed deals (around $4.83 billion). For consistency, all analysis in this report uses data from the original Cryptorank dashboard.

Compared to April 2025’s $2.92 billion across 95 deals, the May total declined by 35.35%, while the number of deals rebounded by 28.4%, indicating a slight resurgence in market activity. However, from a broader perspective, the peak months were December 2024 ($3.13 billion) and March 2025 ($5.08 billion). The March spike was largely driven by blockbuster deals like Abu Dhabi MGX’s $2 billion investment into Binance and Kraken’s $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, marking a historic monthly high.

Despite the peak in March 2025, the number of fundraising rounds has been declining steadily since December 2024’s 168 deals, indicating larger deal sizes and a concentration of capital toward top-tier projects, further reinforcing the “Matthew Effect” in the Web3 space.

Entering Q2 2025, the fundraising climate has cooled significantly. After April’s decline to $2.92 billion, May dropped further to a six-month low of $1.92 billion, with deal activity failing to continue the recovery trend. This suggests that the Web3 market is entering a phase of rational correction, where fundamentals, compliance, and sustainable growth are becoming central to investment decisions. As a result, smaller projects face increasing pressure, and capital allocation is becoming more conservative, signaling a market shift towards a “quality-first, selective investment” era.

In May 2025, Web3 fundraising exhibited high capital concentration and institutional dominance. Funds flowed mainly into CeFi, blockchain services, and infrastructure. Traditional financial tools like M&A and PIPE were frequently used, signaling deeper integration with TradFi.【2】

• CeFi leads the market with large-scale deals: CeFi remained the most capital-intensive sector in May. Four of the top five largest fundraising events were from CeFi.

  • Deribit topped the list with a $2.9 billion M&A deal led by Coinbase Ventures, reflecting traditional financial giants’ accelerated consolidation of crypto infrastructure.
    • Strive followed closely, securing $750 million in PIPE investment, underscoring strong market demand for wealth management and compliant investment services. These projects typically feature high compliance and TradFi extensibility, attracting institutional attention.

• Blockchain service platforms remain highly active:

  • BTCS Inc., a Nasdaq-listed blockchain infrastructure company, raised $57.8 million in Series B.
  • Slash, a crypto asset management platform, secured $41 million in Series B, led by Goodwater Capital.
  • Doppel, an AI-powered security risk platform, raised $35 million in Series B with backing from a16z, Bessemer, and others.
  • Conduit, focused on cross-border stablecoin payments, raised $36 million in Series A, supported by DCG and others. \

These reflect the growing demand for enterprise-grade solutions in payments, asset management, and security, establishing a robust service matrix attractive to mid- to long-term capital.

• Chain-level projects continue to attract capital: World Network raised $135 million in a private token sale, led by a16z and Bain Capital Crypto—the largest infrastructure round in May. This indicates continued optimism toward scalability, network performance, and user experience, confirming the strategic importance of chain development even in bear markets.
• AI + Web3 intersections gain attention: Freysa AI, promoting the concept of AI digital twins, secured $30 million in a token round backed by Coinbase Ventures and Selini Capital.This marks rising interest in AI agents, on-chain identity, and intelligent asset management—potentially the next wave of thematic investment.
• Diverse financing methods and investor structure:
  • May saw a blend of traditional and novel financing tools, including M&A, PIPE, debt financing, and convertible notes, reflecting growing maturity in Web3 capital markets.
  • Top-tier investors such as Coinbase Ventures, a16z, Bain Capital Crypto, Bessemer Venture Partners, DCG, and Goodwater Capital actively deployed capital, suggesting a new cycle led by high-quality projects and sophisticated capital.

According to data from the Cryptorank Dashboard, Web3 fundraising in May 2025 showed a structurally polarized pattern characterized by “CeFi dominance + support from service and scaling sectors + marginalization of sentiment-driven tracks.” Institutional capital allocations are increasingly concentrated in sectors with “low volatility, strong rigid demand, and high synergy,” indicating that the next market cycle is more likely to be initiated by infrastructure and TradFi-intersecting projects.

CeFi dominance: The CeFi sector secured a total of $1.29 billion in funding—almost three times the combined total of all other sectors—making it the absolute leader in monthly fundraising. This extreme concentration was largely due to the statistical impact of a $2.9 billion M&A deal involving Deribit, and it reflects the ongoing preference of traditional financial capital for mature, compliance-friendly, and integration-ready centralized crypto infrastructure.

Infrastructure & services remain attractive: Blockchain services ($273.53 million) and Layer 2 / scaling-related chain projects ($162.75 million) ranked second and third in total funding. Both sectors exhibit “tool + infrastructure” characteristics and serve as foundational pillars of the Web3 ecosystem. Despite a cooling market overall, they continue to attract significant capital.

DeFi steady but not dominant: DeFi raised $101.75 million—maintaining some heat but still far behind CeFi. This reflects a shift in market focus from early-stage hypergrowth to more regulated, professional, and institutionalized development. Meanwhile, the Blockchain Infrastructure sector attracted only $47.3 million, showing a more conservative stance and indicating that traditional infrastructure paths still require validation of sustainability and competitive edge.

Emerging tracks like Meme stay marginal: The Meme sector, newly categorized as an independent track, secured $30.8 million in funding. While this signals sustained interest in socially viral and community-driven areas, its capital size remains too small to challenge mainstream sectors.

GameFi and Social lag behind: GameFi raised only $17 million, while the Social sector attracted a mere $450,000. The near-zero financing of Web3 social apps suggests a narrowing market risk appetite, with capital increasingly favoring high-certainty, mature business models. Consumer-facing applications with strong innovation but unclear monetization face growing challenges.

Overall, the Web3 fundraising landscape in May 2025 highlights institutional and large-cap investor focus on compliance, foundational infrastructure, and TradFi integration. Investment strategies are becoming more conservative and pragmatic. Meanwhile, emerging verticals like Meme and AI Agents continue to receive experimental support but remain at the periphery of capital flows.

Based on data from 82 Web3 projects disclosed in May 2025, the size distribution of funding shows a “mid-range concentration with tapering at both ends,” indicating a market still in a cautious risk-on phase, especially for early-stage bets.

• Mid-size projects dominate: 32.9% of projects raised between $3 million and $10 million—more than any other bracket. This suggests strong investor interest in projects that have completed MVPs or acquired early users and show growth potential. Mid-stage rounds (Pre-A to Series A) are emerging as the mainstream choice. In a risk-averse environment, capital prefers projects with validated models and controllable valuations.
• Early-stage funding remains but is selective: 26.8% of projects raised $1–3 million, while only 13.4% raised under $1 million. Although early-stage projects still receive support, they face stricter investor scrutiny and a more cautious funding approach.
• Large-scale funding is rare but powerful: About 32.4% of projects raised over $10 million, but only 7.3% exceeded $50 million. These rounds, while few, accounted for a significant share of total capital, concentrated mainly on CeFi, GameFi infrastructure, or M&A deals. Such mega-rounds reflect institutional focus on high-certainty, strategically valuable projects, rather than a broad market rebound.

Web3 funding in May 2025 shows a preference for mid-sized rounds during the early stages of market recovery. While small deals still occur, they face selection pressure, and large projects draw capital thanks to their strategic certainty. This distribution reflects a maturing and more disciplined market where actual growth potential and business viability take center stage.

According to data from 57 Web3 projects with disclosed funding rounds in May 2025, the ecosystem demonstrates a structural pattern: active early-stage project participation, with funding disproportionately flowing to mid-to-late stage deals. This reflects a dual-track capital allocation strategy of “exploratory investing + strategic concentration.”

• Seed and Strategic rounds are most active: Seed (31.6%) and Strategic rounds (33.3%) accounted for a combined 64.9% of all funding rounds. This shows sustained interest in early-stage opportunities, especially those with long-term potential. However, despite the high number of Strategic deals, they only captured 11.6% of total capital—implying a preference for small, tactical investments aimed at ecosystem synergy and long-term integration.
• Capital focused on Series A and B: Although only 21% of projects were in Series A or B, these rounds accounted for 60.9% of total funding. This strong concentration illustrates capital’s tilt toward a “fewer but better” strategy, favoring projects with clear business models and strong expansion momentum.
• Pre-Seed still exists but selective:Pre-Seed projects made up 14% of the count and 4.5% of funding. While the smallest share, it still indicates selective support for highly innovative teams, often with strong founder credentials or clear differentiation. Investors in this bracket are noticeably more cautious.

Web3 fundraising in May 2025 reveals a classic “K-shaped” structure. On one side, Seed and Strategic rounds remain active, indicating continued bets on early potential and ecosystem synergies. On the other, funds are clearly concentrating on mid-to-late stage projects with maturity and scalability. Overall, the capital style is becoming more rational and layered, reflecting a shift from speculative exuberance to mature investment behavior.

As of June 3, 2025, data from Cryptorank shows Alliance DAO leading all institutions with investments in six projects—mainly in the DeFi (dark blue) sector, while also covering blockchain infrastructure and on-chain services. Close behind are Selini Capital, Arbitrum Gaming, and Mirana Ventures, each investing in five projects. Coinbase Ventures and Animoca Brands were also active, each investing in four.

From the perspective of sector distribution, DeFi and blockchain services were the most institutionally favored sectors, appearing prominently across portfolios. For example, Alliance DAO, Selini Capital, and Mirana Ventures all made significant moves in chain infrastructure and DeFi—highlighting ongoing demand for foundational infrastructure and financial services on Web3.Meanwhile, some firms showed strong vertical focus: Arbitrum Gaming and Animoca Brands concentrated their bets in the GameFi sector, leveraging their strategic positioning and existing advantages in gaming.

Highlighted Project of the Month

Antix

Overview: Antix is an AI-powered platform focused on creating ultra-realistic and emotionally intelligent digital human avatars capable of mimicking everyday interactions. At its core is the AIGE (Adaptive Intelligence for Generative Expression) engine, which combines advanced AI with 3D tools to rapidly generate next-generation digital humans. Antix aims to bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds, empowering brands, creators, and consumers to connect in transformative ways through hyperrealistic digital personas, blending decentralized digital identity with the future of entertainment.【3】

On May 14, Antix announced the completion of an $8.2 million private funding round, supported by over 10,000 community investors. The goal is to bring hyperrealistic AI-driven digital human technology into blockchain space.【4】

Investors/Angel Backers: Over 10,000 individual community participants.

Highlights:

• Antix is revolutionizing the digital human creation process with breakthrough GenAI technology. In just a few hours and starting at $100, users can create highly personalized emotional avatars—cutting costs by up to 90% compared to traditional methods. Its AIGE engine can generate photorealistic, customizable digital humans from just a few images, deployable in virtual environments or minted as NFTs for entertainment, gaming, decentralized identity, and more.
• The platform powers a tokenized digital human ecosystem using the $ANTIX token to drive core functionalities. Creators can own and monetize their digital identity IP—including motion, attire, and voice modules. Each avatar is paired with a unique NFT “passport” that verifies identity, confirms ownership, and enables full creative and revenue control for the creator.
• From global brands to individual creators, Antix enables digital humans to act as actors, hosts, brand ambassadors, fitness coaches, customer service agents, and more—accelerating content creation and monetization. A public beta is set for summer 2025, with full launch expected later in the year.
• Antix was co-founded by former Disney executive Marina Averbuch and Roman Cyganov of Vivex Studios. The team has contributed to titles such as Game of Thrones and World of Tanks, and has earned recognition from industry giants like Warner Bros., EA Sports, and HBO.

Turtle Club

Overview: Turtle Club is an innovative virtual liquidity protocol that operates without smart contracts. It incentivizes liquidity providers (LPs) by tracking on-chain activity—such as providing liquidity and cross-protocol swaps—and distributing tokens from a shared treasury managed by TurtleDAO. The system operates off-chain, does not custody user funds, and reduces risk while maintaining user control.【5】

On May 12, Turtle Club announced a $6.2 million seed round led by THEIA to advance its on-chain liquidity distribution protocol.【6】

Investors: THEIA, SIG, Consensys, Susquehanna International Group, Laser Digital, Chorus One, and others.

Highlights:

• Turtle Club is open to all Web3 users, regardless of capital size. Through deep integrations with partner protocols, it provides returns to users and value to partners. Users simply connect their wallets and continue using their preferred protocols—no behavioral changes required. The platform tracks wallet activity and rewards users with additional yield for actions like providing liquidity, staking, trading, and referrals—delivering 7–8x returns on existing liquidity.
• Operating under a DAO governance model, Turtle Club redefines incentive structures among developers, LPs, and investors. All transactions are executed via APIs with partner protocols, eliminating the need for smart contracts—significantly reducing technical risk and ensuring that users retain full control over their funds. The platform also offers zero management and performance fees, further lowering the cost of participation.
• Turtle Club never takes custody of user funds. All transactions are executed directly via partner protocols through API connections, avoiding smart contract vulnerabilities and maintaining maximum user control.
• Since launching in March 2024, the platform has shown rapid growth, attracting over 315,000 registered wallets, guiding over $2.3 billion in total value, and integrating 51 protocols. During its first incentive campaign, it successfully deployed $550 million in liquidity within 45 days.【7】

T-Rex

Overview: T-Rex is a blockchain purpose-built for consumer applications, aiming to reshape Web3 engagement by seamlessly integrating with Web2 platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). Its core product is a Chrome extension that rewards users for content engagement—such as watching videos or sharing content—via a proof-of-engagement (PoE) mechanism.【8】

On May 9, T-Rex announced a $17 million pre-seed funding round and the launch of an incubation fund to bring seamless rewards to online content consumers.【9】

Investors: Portal Ventures, North Island Ventures, Framework Ventures, Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, ArkStream Capital, Mindful Venture Capital, Hypersphere, SNZ, Arche Fund, and others.

Highlights:

• T-Rex introduces a pioneering “attention engine” that uses a proof-of-engagement (PoE) mechanism and a Chrome extension to seamlessly onboard Web2 users into Web3. It rewards users in cryptocurrency for everyday behaviors on platforms like X, TikTok, and YouTube—watching, liking, and sharing content—turning passive audiences into active Web3 participants and solving key problems around Web3 user acquisition and retention.
• The platform’s core innovation lies in its privacy-preserving browser extension, which uses zkTLS (zero-knowledge Transport Layer Security) to verify activity across Web2 and Web3 while safeguarding user privacy. No blockchain knowledge or wallet setup is needed—users simply interact with a “popcorn” icon while watching content to earn points and redeem crypto rewards, enabling a plug-and-play incentivization model. The system also intelligently recommends decentralized applications and content based on user preferences.
• T-Rex’s core philosophy is “enhancing habits without changing them”—turning everyday online actions into digital ownership and real-world perks. Built on the Arbitrum Orbit stack using the Nitro engine and supported by Web3 developer EVG, the protocol is optimized for consumer use cases, ensuring seamless user experience and high scalability.

VOYA Games

Overview: VOYA Games is a Web3 gaming studio committed to creating games that are easy to pick up, fun-first, and empower players with meaningful autonomy. Its flagship title, Craft World, is a casual resource management game where players rebuild civilization alongside friendly dinosaurs after a meteor wipes out humanity. The game is currently in testnet and is expected to complete testing this summer.【10】

On May 21, VOYA Games announced the completion of a $5 million funding round, co-led by 1kx and Makers Fund. The funds will be used to support the development of the casual Web3 game Craft World. 【11】

Investors / Angel Investors: 1kx, Makers Fund, RockawayX, Jeff ‘Jihoz’ Zirlin (Co-founder of Sky Mavis), Sébastien Borget (COO of The Sandbox), among others.

Highlights:

• VOYA Games aims to build an ecosystem that can retain players over the long term, foster loyalty and trust, and reward creativity and engagement. Its debut game Craft World is a free-to-play casual resource management game available in testnet on iOS, Android, and web platforms. It has achieved remarkable results: over 240,000 registered players, 50,000 monthly active users, and 1.1 million cumulative on-chain transactions. The game not only involves players in rebuilding civilization with friendly dinosaurs, but also introduces them to asset ownership and trading in a fun and educational manner. 【12】
• VOYA Games stands out for its interconnected game ecosystem unified by the utility token “Dyno Coin” and seamlessly integrated with two NFT collections. Its economic design goes beyond a single title—items and resources earned in Craft World will carry over into future titles, including the meta-game Project Voyager. In Project Voyager, players complete in-game and social tasks to earn crystals, which can be exchanged for Dyno Coin and are used to build within the ecosystem—enhancing player retention and virality.
• The VOYA Games team is led by Oliver Löffler, co-founder of Kolibri Games and developer of Idle Miner Tycoon (which was downloaded over 100 million times and acquired for a high valuation). Co-founders Florian Dreschner and Dino Erdmann bring strong technical and creative expertise. The studio is backed by leading investors in both gaming and Web3.

KYD Labs

Overview: KYD Labs is a Web3 live event ticketing solution platform built on Solana. It aims to empower artists and venues with full control over ticket sales, fan data, and revenue—effectively addressing revenue leakage caused by secondary market resales. The platform utilizes blockchain technology (including smart contracts and potentially NFTs) to enhance fan engagement and create new monetization opportunities for event organizers.【13】

On May 14, KYD Labs announced the completion of a $7 million seed round led by a16z Crypto.【14】

Investors: a16z Crypto, Techstars, Finality Capital Partners, Ambush Capital, among others.

Highlights:

• KYD Labs empowers artists and venues by addressing the revenue loss and data monopolization issues plaguing traditional ticketing systems. It integrates ticketing, CRM, and customer acquisition into a single platform, streamlining operations and offering detailed sales insights to optimize marketing strategies. Each venue is also assigned a dedicated marketing specialist to assist with event management and social media promotion—expanding reach and boosting ticket sales.
• With a blockchain-based ticketing system, KYD Labs helps artists and venues increase ticket revenue by up to 30% while gaining direct access to fan data and income sources—solving problems associated with intermediaries who charge high fees and control customer data. In the past year, KYD Labs has facilitated $4 million in ticket sales and generated over $1 million in revenue. It has signed a four-year exclusive ticketing partnership with New York’s renowned music venue Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), serving over 500,000 fans and helping LPR increase ticket revenue by 30% and earn several million dollars in additional income.【15】
• KYD Labs plans to expand to over 100 U.S. venues by 2026 and aims to support major global venues in live event commerce. The platform will also launch two new protocol layers: the $KYD token for venue and tour financing, and the $TIX rewards token to incentivize fan loyalty—similar to airline mileage programs. These features aim to enhance financial stability for artists and venues while promoting community engagement.

Conclusion

In May 2025, the Web3 industry recorded a total of 122 funding deals. Despite a 35.35% month-over-month decline in total capital raised to $1.92 billion, the market exhibited a highly concentrated and institution-led structure. Capital allocation was heavily skewed toward CeFi, blockchain services, and infrastructure—with CeFi leading the way with $1.29 billion in funding.

In terms of deal size, the market showed a “middle-heavy” distribution, with 32.9% of deals ranging from $3M to $10M, and fewer deals at both the low and high ends—indicating a convergence of risk appetite and a preference for mid-sized projects with proven potential. The distribution of funding stages also formed a “K-shaped” pattern: early-stage deals (seed and strategic rounds) accounted for 64.9% of the total number of deals, while mid-to-late-stage deals (Series A and B) captured 60.9% of the total capital raised.

Key projects such as Antix, Turtle Club, T-Rex, VOYA Games, and KYD Labs showcased innovation in areas like AI avatars, on-chain liquidity, Web2-to-Web3 user onboarding, and blockchain-based ticketing—signaling continued exploration of emerging technologies and use cases beyond traditional infrastructure and fintech. Overall, Web3 investing is maturing, with capital strategies becoming more rational and layered, and growing emphasis on regulatory compliance, clear business models, and real-world applicability.


References:

1. Cryptorank , https://cryptorank.io/funding-analytics
2. Cryptorank, https://cryptorank.io/funding-rounds
3. Antix, https://antix.in/
4. cryptopolitan, https://www.cryptopolitan.com/antix-raises-8-22m-to-bring-hyper-realistic-ai-digital-humans-to-the-blockchain/
5. Turtle Club, https://turtle.club/
6. X, https://x.com/turtleclubhouse/status/1921861819225796771
7. Bitcoin.com, https://news.bitcoin.com/zh/turtle-club-chouji-6-2-meiyuan-yi-tuijin-lian-shang-liudongxing-fenpei-xieyi/
8. T-Rex, https://trex.xyz/
9. The Block, https://www.theblock.co/post/353754/web3-consumer-rewards-platform-t-rex-nets-17-million-in-pre-seed
10. VOYA Games, https://www.voya.games/
11. X, https://x.com/Voya_Games/status/1925181023848992823
12. VentureBeat, https://venturebeat.com/games/voya-games-raises-5m-to-grow-casual-web3-game-craft-world/
13. KYD Labs, https://www.kydlabs.com/
14. X, https://x.com/KYDLabs/status/1922642579448824234
15. Coindesk, https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-toronto-2025-coverage/2025/05/15/a16z-crypto-leads-usd7m-round-in-kyd-labs-that-aims-to-transform-ticketing-industry

Gate Reach is a comprehensive blockchain and cryptocurrency research platform that provides readers with in-depth content, including technical analysis, trending insights, market reviews, industry research, trend forecasts, and macroeconomic policy analysis.

Disclaimer
Investing in the cryptocurrency market involves high risk. Users are advised to conduct independent research and fully understand the nature of the assets and products before making any investment decisions. Gate is not responsible for any losses or damages arising from such investment decisions.