Crypto Venture Weekly: October 27-31, 2025

Introduction

26 projects raised $349 million this week, led by Bron Labs ($15M) and ZAR ($12.9M), while OceanPal announced a $120 million digital asset treasury allocation to NEAR. Gate Ventures acquired ADEN, Redacted merged with Tenset, ANT.FUN acquired WhalePay, and Lolli acquired Slice to accelerate Lightning integration. Jessy outlined the rise of machine-native financial systems, Omar Kanji dissected Coinbase’s strong Q3 performance, and 1kx reported that DeFi remains the leading onchain revenue driver as consumer, wallet, and DePIN sectors expand. Here’s the breakdown of this week’s top deals and insights.

Key Highlights

• Notable Deals: Bron Labs ($15M), ZAR ($12.9M), KapKap ($10M), Standard Economics ($9M), Intuition ($8.5M), Capybobo ($8M), Accountable ($7.5M), and DeepSafe ($3M).
• Digital Asset Treasuries: OceanPal ($120M for NEAR).
• M&A Activity: Gate Ventures acquired ADEN, Redacted merged with Tenset, ANT.FUN acquired WhalePay, and Lolli acquired Slice.
• VC CT: Jessy explored how programmable payments and interoperable protocols are paving the way for machine-native finance; Omar Kanji analyzed Coinbase’s Q3 earnings and emerging product traction; and 1kx reported that DeFi remains the top onchain revenue driver as consumer, wallet, and DePIN sectors accelerate.

Notable Deals

26 projects collectively raised $349 million this week. Here are the eight that stood out:

Bron Labs

• The Pitch: A self-custodial platform aimed at giving consumers institutional-level wallet security
• Round: $15 million Seed
• Investors: GSR, LocalGlobe, Fasanara Capital, and more

ZAR

• The Pitch: Fintech aiming to make dollar-backed stablecoins accessible to everyday consumers in Pakistan and other emerging markets
• Round: $12.9 million funding
• Investors: Led by a16z crypto with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, VanEck, and Endeavor Catalyst

KapKap

• The Pitch: AI-driven Web3 attention economy and value distribution platform
• Round: $10 million Seed
• Investors: Led by Animoca Brands with participation from Shima Capital, Big Brain Holdings, Mechanism Capital, and more

Standard Economics

• The Pitch: Building the Uno mobile app for cross-border payments, remittances, and USD stablecoins
• Round: $9 million Seed
• Investors: Led by Paradigm with participation from Lightspeed and strategic angel investors

Intuition

• The Pitch: Developing a composable trust layer for the internet and AI
• Round: $8.5 million Strategic
• Investors: Shima Capital, Polygon, CoinList, ConsenSys, Superscrypt, F-Prime Capital, and more

Capybobo

• The Pitch: Web3-native art toy IP bridging digital and physical
• Round: $8 million funding
• Investors: Led by Pluto.Vision with participation from Animoca Brands, HashKey Capital, Mirana Ventures, and more

Accountable

• The Pitch: Real-time financial verification for institutions to prove assets and liabilities privately
• Round: $7.5 million funding
• Investors: Led by Pantera Capital with participation from OKX Ventures, Auros Global, Karpatkey, and more

DeepSafe

• The Pitch: AI network for trustless verification of onchain and offchain messages
• Round: $3 million Seed
• Investors: Spark Digital Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Gate Ventures, ViaBTC Capital, Antalpha, and more

Digital Asset Treasuries

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:

OceanPal

• The Pitch: Nasdaq-listed OceanPal Inc. raised $120 million to launch SovereignAI, a subsidiary building privacy-preserving AI infrastructure on NEAR Protocol in collaboration with the NEAR Foundation. SovereignAI will implement a crypto treasury strategy targeting up to 10% of NEAR’s total supply, positioning OceanPal as a public vehicle for NEAR exposure.
• Round: $120 million PIPE
• Investors: Undisclosed

M&A Activity

Gate Ventures acquired ADEN

Gate Ventures acquired ADEN, a decentralized perpetual exchange with over $20 billion in monthly volume and 200,000 users. ADEN will migrate to Gate Layer, Gate’s OP Stack-based Layer-2 network, enhancing scalability, efficiency, and interoperability across major chains. The integration forms the foundation of Gate Perp DEX, supporting over 447 perpetual markets with up to 125x leverage. The acquisition strengthens Gate’s “All in Web3” strategy, aligning ADEN’s liquidity and community with Gate’s infrastructure to advance cross-chain derivatives trading and bridge CeFi and DeFi ecosystems.

Redacted merged with Tenset

Redacted merged with Tenset to create a unified platform focused on RWA tokenization across film financing, real estate, and structured credit. The merger combines Redacted’s institutional network with Tenset’s launchpad infrastructure. The joint entity will debut with CineFi, a decentralized film-financing platform developed in partnership with Mugafi, enabling Web3 participants to access curated film investment opportunities. By integrating Tenset’s community reach and Redacted’s RWA expertise, the merged platform aims to democratize traditionally exclusive markets while maintaining both projects’ existing token ecosystems.

ANT.FUN acquired WhalePay

ANT.FUN acquired WhalePay, a centralized wallet and payment platform known for issuing hundreds of thousands of crypto-linked U cards and managing over $100 million in LTV. WhalePay offers wallet, payment, and card issuance services. Following the acquisition, ANT.FUN will merge technical teams and restructure WhalePay’s products to enhance usability and stability, with upcoming iterations focusing on wealth management, payments, and asset management, as well as future integration with the x402 protocol.

Lolli acquired Slice

Lolli, a bitcoin rewards platform, acquired Slice, a browser extension that enables users to passively earn bitcoin while shopping, browsing, or streaming online. The integration unifies Lolli’s shopping rewards with Slice’s passive earning model, creating a seamless way for users to earn sats across all online activity. The acquisition also allows Lolli to accelerate Lightning Network integration, enabling faster, cheaper withdrawals and lower minimums for all users.

VC CT: What VCs are saying on Crypto Twitter

Jessy (Nascent)

• Argued that programmable payments and interoperable protocols will enable a new era of machine-native financial systems and continuous, composable commerce.

Omar Kanji (Dragonfly)

• Shared takeaways from Coinbase’s Q3 double-beat, noting Deribit’s $52M contribution implying a $400M run-rate, on-platform USDC balances now earning more revenue than Circle’s, and Coinbase OneCard’s $100M spend signaling early success.

1kx

• Released a report on onchain revenue in 2025, showing DeFi still drives 63% of total revenue, but wallets, consumer apps, and DePIN are growing fastest. Highlighted that the onchain economy is stronger than in 2021, with 8x more monetized protocols and record tokenholder payouts.

Quick Recap

• Total Deals: 26
• Total Raised: $349M
• Digital Asset Treasuries: $120M
• Acquisitions: 4
• 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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