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Top Crypto VCs in 2026: a16z, Paradigm, and the Most Active Funds

TL;DR

  • Crypto venture capital funds the early-stage protocol, application and infrastructure builders that define the industry. As of April 2026 the top tier is led by a16z Crypto (Fund IV $4.5B, May 2022), Paradigm (Fund III $850M, 2024) and Polychain Capital plus a deep bench of specialists.
  • The 2024-2025 cycle saw record-breaking mega-rounds: Monad Labs $225M, Farcaster $150M, Berachain $100M, EigenLayer $100M, Celestia $100M, Story Protocol $80M, Babylon $70M, Sentient Labs $85M.
  • Capital is concentrating into four themes: modular infrastructure (Celestia/EigenLayer/Babylon), consumer crypto (Farcaster, Phantom, Magic Eden), AI × crypto (Sentient, Worldcoin), and on-chain finance (Uniswap, Aave, prediction markets).
  • Beyond fund names, individual partners — Chris Dixon, Matt Huang, Kyle Samani, Dan Morehead, Avichal Garg, Katie Haun, Olaf Carlson-Wee — set the theses that shape billions in capital allocation.

Table of contents

What is a crypto VC?

A crypto VC is a venture-capital fund that specializes in financing crypto-native companies, protocols and tokens. Unlike traditional software venture funds, crypto VCs typically invest in a dual-asset structure — equity in the operating company plus token warrants for any future protocol token — and frequently also run separate liquid-token funds that trade publicly-listed crypto assets alongside the venture portfolio.

The crypto-VC industry emerged in stages:

  1. 2013-2015 — first dedicated funds: Pantera Capital launches the Pantera Bitcoin Fund (2013), Blockchain Capital, and Bitcoin angel investors. Few generalist VCs participate.
  2. 2016-2018 — ICO and token boom: Polychain Capital (Olaf Carlson-Wee), Paradigm (Matt Huang + Fred Ehrsam, 2018), Multicoin Capital (2017), a16z Crypto Fund I ($300M, 2018).
  3. 2019-2021 — DeFi summer and NFT mania: massive capital inflows. a16z Fund II ($515M, 2020) and Fund III ($2.2B, 2021); Paradigm Fund II ($2.5B, 2021).
  4. 2022-2023 — bear-market consolidation: token-fund drawdowns; some funds extend deployment periods; quieter fundraising.
  5. 2024-2026 — second mega-cycle: a16z Fund IV $4.5B (May 2022), Paradigm Fund III $850M (2024), Pantera Fund V $1B target. Mega-rounds for Monad, EigenLayer, Celestia, Berachain, Farcaster.

The result is an industry with $20B+ of dry powder explicitly earmarked for crypto and dozens of multi-billion-dollar firms each shaping the ecosystem in their own image.

a16z Crypto

Andreessen Horowitz Crypto (a16z Crypto) is the largest and most influential crypto venture fund in the world. Founded as a unit of Andreessen Horowitz in 2018 with the inaugural $300M Crypto Fund I, the franchise has scaled aggressively:

Total committed capital across the four vintages: ~$7.5B. Add in adjacent a16z funds with crypto positions, and the franchise's effective crypto exposure is closer to $20B.

The general-partnership tier is led by Chris Dixon (founding GP), with partners Ali Yahya, Arianna Simpson, Sriram Krishnan, Daren Matsuoka and others. The firm operates the influential a16z Crypto Research lab (covering mechanism design, cryptography, ZK proofs, distributed systems) and publishes one of the most-read industry research outlets — including the annual State of Crypto Report, the 17 Things We're Excited About for Crypto in 2026 and 3 Ways Crypto Goes Beyond Crypto in 2026.

Notable portfolio: Uniswap Labs, Aave Companies, Compound Labs, Coinbase, OpenSea, chain:optimism (Optimism), EigenLayer, Story Protocol ($80M Series B), Worldcoin (large allocator), Phantom, Aptos, Sui, Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity).

a16z's thesis, in Dixon's framing, is that crypto is the foundational technology for "computer networks owned by users" — a successor to corporate-controlled platforms (Web2). The firm pursues this thesis through three lenses: (1) infrastructure (modular blockchains, ZK, EigenLayer-style restaking), (2) on-chain finance (Uniswap, Aave, on-chain treasuries), and (3) consumer applications (decentralized social, NFTs, identity, gaming).

Paradigm

Paradigm was founded in 2018 by Matt Huang (formerly Sequoia, where he led the firm's first crypto investments) and Fred Ehrsam (Coinbase co-founder). The firm is famously concentrated, high-conviction, and research-heavy.

Fund vintages:

Paradigm has fewer GPs than a16z (about 6 senior partners) and makes 10-15 new investments per year, making it the higher-conviction-per-dollar fund. Investments include Uniswap, Optimism, Phantom, Magic Eden, Blur, Lido, Compound, Cosmos, dYdX, Argent, FTX (a notable controversy from the 2022 cycle), Monad Labs (lead investor in $225M Series A), Babylon Labs ($70M), Farcaster ($150M lead).

Paradigm Research, led by partners including Charlie Noyes and Dan Robinson, publishes some of the most-cited mechanism-design papers in the industry. Recent examples include Distribution Markets, The Edges of Finance and How to Remove the Relay. Paradigm also maintains the Reth Ethereum execution-client and the Foundry developer toolchain — two pieces of widely-used open-source infrastructure that underpin the entire EVM ecosystem.

Multicoin Capital

Multicoin Capital was founded in Austin, Texas in 2017 by Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain. The firm is best known as the most prominent Solana thesis fund: Multicoin participated in Solana's seed and Series A rounds in 2018-2019, betting heavily on the high-throughput L1 thesis at a time when most crypto investors were Ethereum-maximalist.

Vintages: Multicoin runs both a venture franchise (Fund III closed 2024 at $430M) and the Multicoin Master Fund liquid-token strategy. Combined AUM exceeds $1B.

Notable portfolio: Solana, Helium, Render Network, Filecoin, Arweave, chain:solana Phantom, dYdX, The Graph, Tensor, BloXroute, Mango Markets, FTX (controversial 2022). The firm has been a key articulator of the "modular vs. monolithic" blockchain debate — taking the monolithic-Solana side — and the "Web3 internet capital markets" frame.

Pantera Capital

Pantera Capital is the oldest dedicated crypto investment firm. Founded in 2003 as a global-macro hedge fund by Dan Morehead (formerly Tiger Management), Pantera launched the first US bitcoin fund in 2013 — making it the OG of institutional crypto.

Pantera now runs multiple strategies: a venture franchise, liquid-token funds, structured-product funds, and a long/short hedge strategy. The most recent venture vintage is Pantera Fund V, with a $1B target, raised across 2024-2025.

Portfolio (ventures and tokens): early Bitcoin investments, Bitstamp (early), Ripple, Circle, 0x, Augur, Brave, Polkadot, Cosmos, Near, Avalanche, dYdX, BlockFi (negative outcome), and dozens of others. Morehead's monthly investor letter — published continuously since 2013 — is one of the longest-running primary sources of institutional crypto research and is widely read by other VCs and asset allocators.

Polychain Capital

Polychain Capital was founded by Olaf Carlson-Wee, Coinbase's first employee, in 2016. It was originally a hedge fund focused on liquid token investments and grew into a full venture-plus-liquid franchise.

Polychain runs venture funds (Fund I-V), liquid token funds, and seed funds. Combined AUM has reached the multi-billion range. Notable investments: dfinity, Filecoin, Tezos, Compound, Definer, Celestia (Series B lead), Aurora, Worldcoin, Ondo Finance, and many DeFi-protocol tokens.

Polychain's thesis emphasizes "protocol primitives" — investments in foundational infrastructure (consensus, data availability, ZK systems) that other applications build on. The firm is also a prominent voice in DeFi governance, holding meaningful token positions in many of the largest protocols.

Haun Ventures

Haun Ventures was founded in March 2022 by Katie Haun, who previously served as a federal prosecutor and was the first crypto general partner at a16z. Haun raised $1.5B across two funds at launch — $500M for early-stage and $1.0B for an "acceleration fund" focused on later-stage and growth investments.

Haun's thesis emphasizes consumer-crypto applications, regulatory-aware project design, and a deep bench of policy-and-government-relations expertise. Notable investments include Aptos, Optimism, Worldcoin, OpenSea, Sky Mavis, Lightning Labs, Flashbots, Circle, Sound.xyz. Katie Haun is one of the most-quoted crypto-policy voices in Washington and sits on multiple industry boards.

Founders Fund

Founders Fund is the Peter Thiel-affiliated venture firm. Founders Fund has been a quiet but powerful crypto investor since the 2010s — its early-Coinbase position is reportedly one of the most profitable single bets in venture history. Senior partners Brian Singerman and Trae Stephens are vocal long-term crypto bulls, and partner Joey Krug (previously co-CIO at Pantera Capital) has led many recent crypto deals.

Notable 2024-2025 activity: led the Sentient Labs $85M round (decentralized AI), backed Truth Terminal (autonomous AI agent project that became a 2024 viral sensation), Polymarket (prediction markets), Anchorage, and several stablecoin and infrastructure plays. Founders Fund tends to make fewer but larger crypto bets than dedicated crypto-only funds.

Dragonfly Capital

Dragonfly Capital was founded by Alex Pack (formerly of Bain Capital Ventures and AngelList) and Bo Feng in 2018 and is led today by Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt and Lindsay Lin. Dragonfly's most recent fund (Dragonfly Ventures Fund III) closed at $650M in 2022 with deployment continuing through 2024-2025.

Portfolio: Avalanche, dYdX, Compound, Cosmos, Near, Matter Labs (zkSync), Aleo, Mantle, Aztec Network, Eigen Labs, Monad, Berachain, Sui, and dozens of DeFi-protocol investments. Dragonfly is particularly active in Asia and maintains research coverage on Asian crypto markets.

Framework Ventures

Framework Ventures, founded by Vance Spencer and Michael Anderson in 2019, focuses on DeFi infrastructure, gaming and emerging primitives. Funds I and II totaled approximately $1B.

Investments: Chainlink (early backer of LINK), Aave, Yearn, Synthetix, dYdX, Edge & Node (The Graph), Berachain (early lead), and many gaming-related crypto investments. Framework was an early advocate of "productive crypto assets" — the thesis that DeFi tokens with real cash-flow yield should command equity-like valuations.

Electric Capital

Electric Capital, co-founded by Avichal Garg and Maria Shen in 2018, is best known for the annual Electric Capital Developer Report, the industry's most-cited measure of crypto-developer activity. Fund III closed at approximately $1B in 2022 with continued deployment through 2024-2025.

Investments: Phantom, dYdX, Compound, EigenLayer, Anchorage, Helium, Worldcoin, Optimism, Arbitrum, Sui, Ethena, and dozens of infrastructure and consumer plays. Electric's thesis emphasizes developer-led network growth — measuring success in active protocol developers rather than TVL.

Variant Fund

Variant Fund was founded by Jesse Walden in 2020 (Walden previously led a16z Crypto's earliest deals before founding Variant). Variant focuses on early-stage consumer and ownership economy. Fund III closed at $450M in 2022; deployment continuing.

Notable portfolio: Foundation, Royal, Audius, Light, Ethena, OpenSea, Polymarket, and many consumer-NFT plays. Variant is famously early-stage focused, often leading or co-leading seed rounds.

Standard Crypto

Standard Crypto was founded in 2018 and runs a concentrated venture franchise across Fund I-III. The firm has been an early backer of Solana ecosystem projects, restaking infrastructure (EigenLayer), and DeFi composability. Investors include some of the most prominent LPs in tech.

Coinbase Ventures

Coinbase Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Coinbase Global. By deal count it is the most active crypto VC, with 400+ portfolio companies as of 2026. Coinbase Ventures invests across stages from pre-seed to growth, often serving as a strategic LP for Coinbase ecosystem alignments (Base L2, USDC, BASE-aligned protocols).

Notable investments: Compound, OpenSea, Polygon, BlockFi (negative), dYdX, Zora, Optimism, Base ecosystem projects (hundreds of small bets), Aerodrome, Friend.tech, World, Aztec, Arbitrum, and many more.

YZi Labs (Binance Labs rebrand)

YZi Labs is the rebrand (2025) of Binance Labs, the venture arm of the Binance exchange ecosystem. YZi continues Binance Labs' aggressive deal pace — typically 50+ investments per year — focused on BNB Chain ecosystem, infrastructure, DeFi, and emerging-market consumer applications. Past portfolio includes Curve, Polygon, Avalanche, ApeCoin, Helium, and many BNB Chain-aligned projects.

Hack VC

Hack VC was founded by Alex Pack (after his MetaStable / Dragonfly arc) and focuses on early-stage infrastructure and DeFi. The firm leans into technical-research-led investing and has been a notable backer of zkSync, EigenLayer, and other modular-stack plays.

Robot Ventures, 1confirmation, Castle Island, Placeholder

A bench of smaller specialist funds plays an outsized role in the early-stage ecosystem:

These specialist funds typically write smaller checks ($250K-$3M) but provide outsized strategic value through founder-friendly terms and focused expertise.

Sequoia, Lightspeed and other generalist firms

Several traditional venture firms maintain dedicated crypto teams:

Notable 2024-2025 mega-rounds

The 2024-2025 cycle has produced an unusual concentration of large primary rounds:

Project Round Amount Lead Date
Monad Labs Series A $225M Paradigm Apr 2024
Farcaster Series A $150M Paradigm May 2024
Berachain Series B $100M Brevan Howard / Framework Apr 2024
EigenLayer Series B $100M a16z Feb 2024
Celestia Series B $100M Polychain Sep 2023
Story Protocol Series B $80M a16z Aug 2024
Babylon Labs Series A $70M Paradigm May 2024
Sentient Labs Seed $85M Founders Fund 2024
Polymarket Series B $70M Founders Fund 2024
Sui (Mysten Labs) Strategic $300M (multiple) 2023-2024

The pattern: multi-stage rounds for L1/L2/modular infrastructure, plus consumer-crypto rounds (Farcaster, Phantom expansions), plus AI × crypto (Sentient).

2024-2025 capital allocation by theme (estimated, based on a16z, Paradigm, Multicoin and similar fund disclosures):

  1. Modular blockchain infrastructure — ~30% of new capital. EigenLayer, Celestia, Babylon, Avail, Hyperlane, modular-data-availability stack. Driven by belief that modular L1/L2 architectures will dominate.
  2. AI × Crypto — ~20%. Sentient, Bittensor ecosystem projects, Worldcoin (proof-of-personhood), Story Protocol (IP for AI training), Truth Terminal-style autonomous agent projects, decentralized inference platforms.
  3. DeFi (mature + new primitives) — ~20%. Existing protocols (Aave, Uniswap) for stable cash flow + new primitives (perpetual DEXs, on-chain options, real-world asset tokenization). Real World Asset Tokenization is a major sub-theme.
  4. Consumer crypto — ~15%. Farcaster, Phantom, Magic Eden, Worldcoin, payment apps, NFT consumer.
  5. Bitcoin-aligned — ~10%. Babylon, bitcoin DeFi, Lightning, Ordinals/Runes, BTC L2s.
  6. Gaming — ~5%. Down from cycle peak; concentrated in a few mature studios (Sky Mavis, Mythical, Immutable, Yuga Labs).

These allocations represent direction rather than precise numbers — the underlying disclosed data is patchy.

How VC funding shapes the ecosystem

Crypto VCs influence the industry far beyond their dollar deployment:

  1. Thesis setting. Public research from a16z, Paradigm, Multicoin defines themes that the rest of the market follows. The annual a16z State of Crypto Report alone shapes how thousands of allocators, founders and journalists think about the space.
  2. Talent recruitment. Top funds run founder-recruitment programs, in-house engineering teams, and policy desks. Paradigm's Reth/Foundry teams build the open-source toolchain that every Ethereum app uses.
  3. Token allocations. Most protocol launches reserve 10-30% of total token supply for venture investors. This means VCs are literally co-owners of the major networks and can influence governance, listings and partnerships.
  4. Policy influence. Funds employ in-house policy and regulatory teams (Haun Ventures, a16z) and lobby actively. Many partners have served in or advised the Trump administration's 2025 crypto-policy executive orders.
  5. Mergers and exits. VCs structure trade-sale exits (e.g., Coinbase acquiring Base ecosystem startups) and IPO timelines (Coinbase 2021, Circle 2025). Their portfolio rotation defines liquidity events for the entire industry.

Risks and criticism

Crypto VC has its share of credible criticisms:

1) Token unlocks and supply overhangs

Most VC investments include token allocations that vest 2-4 years post-launch. Critics argue VC unlocks create persistent secondary-market sell pressure that disadvantages retail buyers who entered post-launch. The "cliff cliff cliff" pattern visible in many 2024-2025 token charts is partly a function of VC vesting schedules.

2) Misaligned incentives

Some critics, including Paradigm partners themselves in published research like Against Buy-and-Burn, argue that current token-design conventions tilt towards short-term VC liquidity rather than long-term protocol health.

3) Concentration of voice

A handful of mega-funds set the public discourse for the industry. Smaller protocols with non-VC-aligned models (e.g., bitcoin maximalist projects) may be under-covered.

4) Bear-market retreat

The 2022-2023 crypto winter saw many crypto VCs cut headcount, mark down portfolios, and slow deployment. New entrants in bull markets often struggle to deploy across cycles.

5) FTX exposure

The 2022 FTX collapse exposed a significant fraction of crypto VCs (Sequoia, Paradigm, Multicoin, BlackRock, SoftBank, Tiger Global) to embarrassing markdowns. The episode prompted a widespread push for better diligence standards.

6) Regulatory risk

SEC enforcement actions in 2023-2024 against unregistered token offerings increased VC compliance costs. The 2025 Trump administration shift toward pro-crypto policy reduced this risk but it remains a tail.

How founders should approach crypto VCs

Practical step-by-step guide for founders raising capital:

  1. Define your stage and check size. Pre-seed ($500K-$2M): target Robot, 1confirmation, Variant, Castle Island. Seed ($3M-$8M): Multicoin, Dragonfly, Framework, Hack VC. Series A ($10M-$30M): a16z, Paradigm, Polychain, Founders Fund. Series B+: a16z growth, Paradigm, Brevan Howard Digital.
  2. Match thesis to fund. L1 infrastructure → Multicoin, Paradigm. DeFi → Framework, Dragonfly. Consumer → Variant, Haun. Bitcoin → Castle Island, Stillmark. AI × crypto → Founders Fund, a16z.
  3. Prepare the right materials. Most crypto VCs expect a tokenomics design memo, not just a pitch deck. Include token supply, vesting, incentive mechanism, governance structure.
  4. Plan for token vs equity. Most rounds are SAFEs + token warrants. Understand the differences: token warrants typically vest with cliff post-mainnet launch.
  5. Get warm intros. Crypto VC is intensely network-driven. Aim for intros from existing portfolio founders or from public-research collaborators (paper co-authors, conference speakers).
  6. Read fund research. Each major fund publishes thematic research. Citing recent a16z, Paradigm or Multicoin pieces in your pitch demonstrates alignment with the fund's thesis.
  7. Negotiate vesting and lockups. VC vesting affects your community's secondary-market experience. Stretching cliffs, adding milestone-based unlocks, or accepting lower headline valuation in exchange for longer cliffs can yield better long-term outcomes.

Several shifts in crypto-VC term sheets are favoring founders in 2026:

These trends partly respond to the criticism that VC vesting schedules have produced poor secondary-market outcomes for retail token buyers.

Use cases / examples

Concrete examples of how VC capital becomes ecosystem activity:

  1. Monad Labs $225M. Lead investor Paradigm. Capital funded core engineering team to build and launch parallel-EVM L1; testnet went live mid-2024 and has attracted dozens of developer teams.
  2. EigenLayer $100M. Lead investor a16z. Capital funded restaking-protocol launch, EIGEN token issuance, and AVS (actively-validated services) marketplace; restaked ETH rapidly grew.
  3. Story Protocol $80M. Lead investor a16z. Funded launch of IP-tokenization L1 designed for AI-training data licensing.
  4. Sentient Labs $85M. Lead investor Founders Fund. Funded decentralized AI inference platform aimed at challenging incumbent AI-API providers.
  5. Berachain $100M. Lead investors Brevan Howard Digital + Framework. Funded launch of proof-of-liquidity L1 with native DEX/lending/stablecoin stack; mainnet 2025.

These are the canonical 2024-2025 deals that define the cycle.

Research and reports

The most-cited primary-source research from major crypto VCs:

FAQ

Which is the largest crypto VC fund?

Andreessen Horowitz Crypto (a16z Crypto) is the largest dedicated crypto venture fund. In May 2022 it closed Crypto Fund IV at $4.5B — the largest single crypto-VC fund ever raised. Headed by general partner Chris Dixon, a16z Crypto manages multiple vintages totaling roughly $7.5B in cumulative committed capital across Funds I through IV. Paradigm is the closest peer with Fund III at $850M (2024) plus prior vintages totaling several billion, and Polychain Capital, Multicoin, Pantera, Haun Ventures and Founders Fund all manage multi-billion-dollar capital pools across several funds.

Who are the most active crypto VCs by deal count?

By raw deal count, Coinbase Ventures has historically been the most active crypto VC, with 400+ portfolio companies as of 2026 spanning seed through Series C. The runner-up is YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs, rebranded in 2025) which deploys capital across BNB Chain ecosystem startups and broader infrastructure. Among traditional venture funds, Pantera Capital, a16z Crypto, Polychain Capital, Multicoin Capital and Dragonfly Capital all maintain active deal pipelines with 30-100+ new investments per year. Robot Ventures (Tarun Chitra) is one of the most active early-stage angels in DeFi infrastructure.

What is a16z Crypto's investment thesis?

a16z Crypto's thesis, articulated by Chris Dixon and the firm's research arm, focuses on "computer-network economies" and the long-term migration of consumer internet products to crypto-native rails. Core themes include decentralized social (Farcaster), creator and IP infrastructure (Story Protocol), modular blockchain infrastructure (EigenLayer, Celestia), zero-knowledge systems (Jolt SNARK), DeFi (Uniswap, Aave, Compound), identity (Worldcoin/World), and AI x crypto. The firm publishes the influential annual State of Crypto Report, plus dozens of long-form research pieces and policy briefs.

What did Paradigm invest in?

Paradigm's portfolio is famously concentrated and high-conviction. Notable investments include Uniswap (DeFi DEX), Optimism (Ethereum L2), Phantom (Solana wallet), Magic Eden (NFT marketplace), Blur (NFT marketplace), Lido (liquid staking), Compound (lending), Cosmos, and infrastructure plays like Reth and Foundry. Paradigm Research, led by partners like Charlie Noyes, publishes peer-reviewed mechanism-design research that influences the entire industry — examples include "Distribution Markets," "How to Remove the Relay," and the foundational Reth Ethereum execution-client codebase.

Who is Katie Haun and what is Haun Ventures?

Katie Haun is a former US federal prosecutor who joined a16z as the firm's first crypto general partner in 2018. In March 2022 she left to launch Haun Ventures, raising $1.5B across two funds ($500M early-stage + $1.0B acceleration fund). Haun Ventures focuses on consumer-crypto applications, regulatory-aware projects, and is notable for hiring a deep policy bench. Portfolio includes Aptos, Optimism, Worldcoin, OpenSea, Sky Mavis, and several stablecoin projects. Haun is also one of the most influential crypto-policy voices in Washington.

What did Multicoin Capital famously invest in?

Multicoin Capital, founded by Kyle Samani and Tushar Jain in 2017, is the most prominent Solana-thesis fund. It led or participated in Solana's seed and Series A rounds (2018-2019), making the firm one of the largest beneficiaries of Solana's 2024-2025 resurgence. Beyond Solana, Multicoin's portfolio includes Helium, Render Network, dYdX, The Graph, Arweave, Filecoin, Phantom, Tensor, and many other infrastructure plays. Multicoin closed its $430M Venture Fund III in 2024 and runs a separate liquid-token fund focused on actively-traded crypto-asset positions.

Who is Dan Morehead and what is Pantera Capital?

Dan Morehead founded Pantera Capital in 2003 as a global-macro hedge fund, and in 2013 launched the Pantera Bitcoin Fund — the first US-based bitcoin investment vehicle. Pantera is therefore the oldest dedicated crypto fund in the industry. The firm now manages multiple strategies (venture, liquid token, hedge, structured) totaling several billion under management. Recent funds include Pantera Fund V with a $1B target, raised 2024-2025. Morehead is one of the most-quoted long-term bitcoin bulls in traditional finance and writes a widely-read monthly investor letter.

What was the largest crypto VC round in 2024-2025?

Multiple mega-rounds defined 2024-2025 crypto VC. Monad Labs raised $225M Series A in April 2024 led by Paradigm, valuing the parallel-EVM L1 at over $3B. Farcaster raised $150M led by Paradigm in May 2024. EigenLayer raised $100M Series B led by a16z in 2024. Berachain raised $100M Series B led by Brevan Howard Digital and Framework in early 2024. Celestia raised $100M Series B led by Polychain. Story Protocol raised $80M Series B led by a16z. Babylon raised $70M led by Paradigm. Sentient Labs raised $85M led by Founders Fund in 2024.

How does Founders Fund participate in crypto?

Founders Fund, the Peter Thiel-affiliated venture firm, has been a quiet but powerful crypto investor since the 2010s. Its bitcoin position dating to early Coinbase rounds is reportedly one of the most profitable single bets in venture history. In 2024-2025 the firm led the $85M Sentient Labs round (decentralized AI) and has backed Truth Terminal (AI agent project), Polymarket (prediction markets), and several stablecoin and infrastructure plays. Founders Fund partners — including Brian Singerman and Trae Stephens — are vocal long-term crypto bulls.

What is the difference between a venture fund and a liquid-token fund?

A venture fund invests in equity or token warrants of early-stage projects, typically with 5-10 year illiquidity, in exchange for governance rights and significant ownership. A liquid-token fund (or "liquid crypto fund") invests in already-issued tokens trading on public markets, similar to a hedge fund, with daily-to-monthly liquidity. Many firms run both: Pantera, Polychain, Multicoin, Galaxy and Dragonfly all manage both strategies. The venture-fund side captures pre-IPO/pre-launch upside; the liquid-token side captures the secondary-market trading inefficiencies. The split between the two has shaped how crypto VCs structure capital.

Glossary

Related reading (internal links)

Sources and further reading

About the author

DeFi Intel Research is an independent crypto-market research desk covering MEV, market microstructure, and venture-capital flows. We track every disclosed crypto VC round of $5M+, maintain founder-by-founder mappings of fund partnerships, and publish quarterly capital-allocation summaries by theme. Numbers reflect best-effort public data as of April 2026.

Last updated: 2026-04-26

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