16 projects raised $80 million this week, led by DigiFT ($11M) and Irys ($10M), while LM Funding America and Amdax expanded their Bitcoin treasury strategies with fresh allocations. Kraken acquired Capitalise.ai, Valantis acquired stakedHYPE, and Kerberus acquired Pocket Universe. On the investor side, Jon Charbonneau contrasted fundamentals-driven investing with flows-driven speculation, Regan Bozman warned founders against launching on unproven L1s, and David Sverdlov & Aiden Slavin clarified misconceptions around blockchain privacy. Here’s the breakdown of this week’s top deals and insights.
VC CT: Jon Charbonneauoutlined a framework contrasting fundamentals-driven investing with flows-driven speculation; Regan Bozmanargued that early-stage crypto founders often make the strategic mistake of launching on emerging L1s; and David Sverdlov & Aiden Slavinexplained how blockchain privacy is misunderstood.
Notable Deals
16 projects collectively raised $80 million this week. Here are the eight that stood out:
In recent months, digital asset treasury activity has accelerated, with corporate and structured vehicles increasingly accumulating tokens at scale. Here are notable examples from the past week:
LM Funding America
The Pitch: LM Funding America (Nasdaq: LMFA), a Bitcoin treasury and mining company, raised $23 million through a $12.6 million registered direct offering and a $10.4 million private placement to expand its Bitcoin holdings. The company, which launched its Bitcoin treasury strategy in 2021 and mining operations in 2022, has accumulated 150 BTC alongside 26 MW of mining capacity and recently agreed to acquire an additional 11 MW site in Mississippi.
Round: $23 million Registered Direct Offering and Private Placement
Investors: N/A
Amsterdam Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
The Pitch: Amdax, an Amsterdam-based cryptocurrency service provider, plans to launch Amsterdam Bitcoin Treasury Strategy (AMBTS) on the Dutch stock exchange Euronext Amsterdam. The firm will raise capital from private investors in an initial financing round, with the long-term goal of acquiring at least 1% of the total bitcoin supply.
Round: N/A
Investors: N/A
M&A Activity
Kraken acquired Capitalise.ai
Krakenacquired the assets and technology of Capitalise.ai, a no-code trading automation platform founded in 2015, to strengthen Kraken Pro. Capitalise.ai enables users to research, design, and automate strategies across equities, crypto, FX, and derivatives using natural language inputs. A phased rollout into Kraken Pro will begin later this year, giving traders the ability to automate cross-asset strategies directly on the platform. Capitalise.ai’s co-founders and key team members will join Kraken to advance the technology within the Pro business unit.
Valantis acquired stakedHYPE
ValantisacquiredstakedHYPE, the protocol behind stHYPE, a liquid staking token (LST) for the Hyperliquid ecosystem. The acquisition unifies development under Valantis, which will oversee stHYPE’s transition to CoreWriter and expand integrations, liquidity, and yield opportunities. stHYPE will be upgraded into a modular LST with synchronous liquidity across HyperEVM and HyperCore, enabling deeper DeFi interactions while maintaining security. Community Codes, stHYPE’s referral system for integrators, will also be expanded.
Kerberus acquired Pocket Universe
KerberusacquiredPocket Universe, a browser extension that protects users from malicious Web3 transactions across 11 chains, with features like rug detection and coverage on transactions up to $20,000. The acquisition combines Pocket Universe’s transaction-level safeguards with Kerberus Sentinel3’s real-time scam site detection, onchain protection, and $30,000 coverage guarantee. Pocket Universe will continue operating with its existing user experience while integrating Sentinel3’s technology, expanding protection to all EVM chains and Solana, and introducing mobile and desktop security products. Pocket Universe’s founders will step back, while Kerberus adds Crypto Banter’sRan Neuner as a strategic advisor to help scale adoption.
Outlined a framework contrasting fundamentals-driven investing with flows-driven speculation, arguing that focusing more on fundamentals could produce alpha as the crypto industry matures.
Argued that early-stage crypto founders often make the strategic mistake of launching on emerging L1s, which add unnecessary risks compared to deploying on established ecosystems like Ethereum or Solana.
Explained how blockchain privacy is misunderstood, dispelling myths through historical context and showing how cryptographic tools like zero-knowledge proofs and encryption can protect users while supporting compliance.
Quick Recap
Total Deals: 16
Total Raised: $80M
Digital Asset Treasuries: $23M
Acquisitions: 3
Newly Launched Funds: 0
That’s a wrap for this week’s Crypto Venture Weekly. Thanks for tuning in, and see you next week!
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Jake is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Research team. He previously worked as an Investment Analyst at an AI-driven crypto research platform and as a Venture Analyst at a digital assets venture fund. He advised multiple RWA tokenization projects on tokenomics. Jake graduated from the University of Southern California, where he studied Philosophy and Finance.
Alice is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Services team. She previously worked as a Research Analyst at The Block and was an Investment Intern at Variant Fund. Alice graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied Economics.
Jake is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Research team. He previously worked as an Investment Analyst at an AI-driven crypto research platform and as a Venture Analyst at a digital assets venture fund. He advised multiple RWA tokenization projects on tokenomics. Jake graduated from the University of Southern California, where he studied Philosophy and Finance.
Alice is a Research Analyst on the Protocol Services team. She previously worked as a Research Analyst at The Block and was an Investment Intern at Variant Fund. Alice graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied Economics.
