VCs invest $30M in blockchain startups

The first quarter of 2025 has seen significant investment in blockchain and crypto startups, with venture capital firms backing projects across decentralised physical infrastructure networks (DePINs), Web3 gaming, and real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation.

Mavryk Dynamics, a developer of a layer-1 blockchain for RWA tokenisation, secured between $5 million and $5.2 million in funding, depending on the source, to advance its platform.

This investment aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralised finance (DeFi) by offering non-custodial features such as a protocol treasury and liquidity mining.

The Mavryk Network has already secured over $360 million in RWAs for tokenisation, focusing on assets like real estate and bonds.

"We’re creating a future where traditional, analog assets seamlessly integrate into a digital network economy, unlocking investment opportunities that were once exclusive to a privileged few and making them accessible to investors around the globe," stated Alex Davis, founder of Mavryk, emphasised the potential of RWA tokenisation.

Alchemy launched a $5 million "Everyone Onchain Fund" to support Web3 adoption on Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), providing developers with gas and computing credits to build on its platforms.

This initiative supports the growth of decentralised applications and ecosystems.

Rho Labs raised $4 million for its decentralised rates exchange, Rho Protocol, which enables users to stake, lend, and trade perpetual futures.

"Rho Labs is filling a gap in the crypto market that is preventing the normalisation of funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi," according to Alex Felix of CoinFund.

Teneo Protocol, a DePIN project, secured $3 million to democratise social media data, allowing users to contribute data in exchange for tokens.

This project highlights the potential of DePINs in enhancing data accessibility and decentralisation.

Fluent Labs and The Game Company also received significant funding, with $8 million and $10 million respectively, to advance their blockchain-based gaming and infrastructure projects.