VC Monthly Report, May: Small-scale fundraising continues to decline, while large-scale M&A deals are on the rise；Coinbase's $2.9 billion acquisition of Deribit sets a new record

Jun 03, 2025

Author: WuBlockchain

According to statistics from RootData, there were 62 publicly announced crypto venture capital (VC) deals in May 2025, marking a month-over-month decrease of 6.1% (compared to 66 in April 2025) and a year-over-year drop of 61.3% (compared to 160 in May 2024). The number of small-scale fundraising deals continues to decline. Note: These figures may increase in the future as not all deals are disclosed in the month they occur.

Breakdown of project types by sector:

CeFi: ~12.9%

DeFi: ~27.4%

NFT/GameFi: ~8.1%

L1/L2: ~11.3%

RWA/DePIN: ~11.3%

Tool/Wallet: ~6.5%

AI: ~11.3%

The total disclosed fundraising amount in April 2025 was $3.95 billion, up 32.3% from March 2025 ($2.986 billion), and up 289.5% year-over-year from April 2024 ($1.014 billion). Large-scale M&A deals are increasing. The top 10 funding rounds by amount are as follows:

Coinbase has agreed to acquire Deribit, the world’s largest crypto derivatives exchange, for $2.9 billion, setting a new record for the largest M&A deal in crypto history. The acquisition includes $700 million in cash, with the remainder paid in stock.

SharpLink Gaming, a Nasdaq-listed company, has signed a securities purchase agreement for a private investment in public equity (PIPE), planning to issue approximately 69,100,313 common shares at $6.15 per share, totaling around $425 million. The round is led by Consensys Software, with participation from ParaFi Capital, Electric Capital, Pantera Capital, Arrington Capital, Galaxy Digital, Ondo, White Star Capital, GSR, Hivemind Capital, Hypersphere, Primitive Ventures, and Republic Digital. The proceeds will be used to purchase ETH as a primary treasury reserve asset, as well as for operating expenses and general corporate purposes.

World Assets, a subsidiary of World Foundation, sold $135 million worth of WLD tokens at market price to Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto on May 21 to support the expansion of the World network in the U.S. and globally. Other disclosed investors include Selini Capital, Mirana Ventures, and Arctic Digital.

Bitcoin investment firm Twenty One Capital raised an additional $100 million through convertible senior secured notes, bringing its total to $685 million as part of its preparation for a merger with Nasdaq-listed Cantor Equity Partners. The new round came from existing investors and sponsors exercising purchase options from the April round. The notes carry a 1% annual interest rate and mature in 2030. Previous rounds included $385 million in bonds and $200 million in PIPE funding.

Stablecoin payments company Conduit raised $36 million in a Series A round led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Sound Ventures, Altos Ventures, DCG, and Commerce Ventures. Total funding now stands at $53 million. Conduit offers cross-border payments using stablecoins, currently supports 14 fiat currencies, and operates in nine countries including the U.S.

Doppel, a platform focused on social engineering defense, closed a $35 million Series B round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with new investors 9Yards Capital and Sozo Ventures joining, and continued support from existing investors including a16z, South Park Commons, SCV, Script Capital, and Sabrina Hahn. Founded three years ago, Doppel provides protection against brand impersonation, executive targeting, and multi-channel phishing.

IntoTheBlock, a DeFi data analytics firm, has merged with liquidity solutions provider Trident Digital to form a new entity named Sentora, which is currently raising $25 million in a round led by New Form Capital, with participation from Ripple and Tribe Capital, among others. Sentora aims to offer a compliant, all-in-one DeFi platform for institutional investors, combining analytics, risk management, yield strategies, compliance, and structured products.

Metaplanet, a publicly traded Japanese company, announced the issuance of its 14th series of corporate bonds, raising $21.25 million to purchase more Bitcoin. Approved on May 9 by its board, the bonds were fully subscribed by EVO FUND. Metaplanet had previously purchased 555 BTC for about $53.4 million, bringing its total BTC holdings to 5,555 coins, with a total investment of $481.5 million and an average price of $86,672 per BTC. This makes Metaplanet the largest public Bitcoin holder in Asia and ninth globally.

Catena Labs, a digital asset startup founded by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, raised $18 million in a seed round led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others. Neville, who stepped down from Circle’s board in early 2020, remains a director. Catena Labs aims to build a native AI-driven bank.

Roxom Global, a Bitcoin project, announced a total raise of $17.9 million to build a BTC-denominated securities exchange and a 24/7 Bitcoin media network called RoxomTV. The exchange received $7.9 million in funding from investors including Draper Associates, while RoxomTV secured $10 million in private financing. The exchange will initially serve markets in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with no current U.S. operations.

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