29 projects raised $333 million this week, led by Alpaca ($150M), VelaFi ($20M), and Project Eleven ($20M), while Strategy, Strive, and DDC Enterprise announced a combined $2.42 billion in bitcoin treasury purchases. Polygon Labs acquired Coinme and Sequence, Bakkt agreed to acquire Distributed Technologies Research, and Animoca Brands acquired SOMO as infrastructure and payments-focused M&A accelerated. On Crypto Twitter, Meltem Demirors argued DePIN token models are structurally flawed, Dovey Wan positioned the 2025 cycle as a shift toward ETF- and institution-led Bitcoin ownership, and Logan Jastremski framed execution-optimized blockchains as the foundation for a global onchain exchange.
Digital Asset Treasuries: Strategy ($1.25 billion for BTC), Strive (~$1.15 billion for BTC), and DDC Enterprise ($17.8M for BTC).
M&A Activity: Polygon Labs acquired Coinme and Sequence, Bakkt acquired Distributed Technologies Research, and Animoca Brands acquired SOMO.
VC CT: Meltem Demirorsargued that DePIN token models are structurally flawed; Dovey Wanpositioned the 2025 cycle as a transition away from retail-driven speculation; and Logan Jastremskiframed high-throughput, execution-optimized blockchains as the only viable foundation for a global onchain exchange.
Notable Deals
29 projects collectively raised $333 million this week. Here are the eight that stood out:
The Pitch: Strategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) acquired 13,627 BTC (~$1.25 billion) at an average price of ~$91,519, increasing total holdings to 687,410 BTC. This marks the company’s largest bitcoin purchase since July 2025.
Round: $1.25 billion Bitcoin purchase
Investors: Public market investors
Strive
The Pitch: Strive Asset Management (NASDAQ: ASST), co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, received shareholder approval to acquireSemler Scientific in an all-stock deal, adding 5,048 BTC to its treasury and pushing the combined entity’s bitcoin holdings past Tesla and Trump Media. Strive also disclosed a recent 123 BTC purchase at an average price of ~$91,561.
Round: ~$1.15 billion Bitcoin purchase
Investors: Public market investors
DDC Enterprise
The Pitch: DDC Enterprise (NYSEAMERICAN: DDC) acquired 200 BTC (~$17.8 million) at an average cost of approximately $88,998, increasing total holdings to 1,383 BTC in its first corporate treasury purchase of 2026.
Bakkt agreed to acquireDistributed Technologies Research, a global stablecoin payment infrastructure provider, in a stock-based transaction that would issue approximately 9.1 million Bakkt shares, representing roughly 31.5% of the agreed share consideration. The acquisition brings DTR’s stablecoin settlement and programmable payments technology in-house, supporting Bakkt’s strategy to reduce third-party dependencies and accelerate its stablecoin and banking product roadmap.
Animoca Brands acquired SOMO
Animoca BrandsacquiredSOMO, a crypto-native digital collectibles and gaming company, to expand its presence in blockchain-based gaming and digital ownership. SOMO brings a portfolio of interoperable titles, including SOMO Tap Tap Tripps, SOMO Duel, and SOMO Battleground, designed to make digital collectibles playable, streamable, and tradeable across games.
Argued that DePIN token models are structurally flawed, while positioning crypto’s long-term opportunity in top-down infrastructure finance, where private capital uses stablecoins and smart contracts to fund and operate large-scale energy, compute, and industrial assets.
Positioned the 2025 cycle as a transition away from retail-driven speculation toward ETF- and institution-led Bitcoin ownership, reducing volatility and limiting spillover into altcoins.
Framed high-throughput, execution-optimized blockchains as the only viable foundation for a global onchain exchange, arguing that fragmented or low-throughput designs constrain liquidity and price discovery at scale.
Quick Recap
Total Deals: 29
Total Raised: $333M
Digital Asset Treasuries: $2.42B
Acquisitions: 6
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.
