Prediction markets and RWA cleared the path, NFTs quiet down, stablecoins rise, and the business bids farewell to wild development.
Written by: Dudu Bitcoin
Compiled by: Saoirse, Foresight Information
In 2025, the rebound in cryptocurrency funding has been as explosive as Dennis Rodman in his prime.
Whole funding for the yr reached $25 billion, making it the second-highest yr on report, surpassed solely by the frenzy of 2021.
However there is a key distinction this yr:
The present funding warmth is definitely extra sustainable.
To determine the place the cash goes, I spent weeks analyzing 6,723 funding rounds.
Successful Sectors: Prediction Markets, AI Storage & RWA
It is no shock that prediction markets emerged as the most important winners.
2025 was a banner yr for prediction markets – they’re the one sector in Web3 that has efficiently attracted a mainstream shopper viewers.
Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are locked in fierce competitors, each vying aggressively for extra top-tier partnerships.
Now, prediction markets are built-in into Google Search and main mainstream media retailers, additional embedding themselves into the general public sphere.
The truth that Actual World Belongings (RWA) and cybersecurity ranked among the many top-funded sectors reinforces a core thesis: cryptocurrency is maturing and turning into extra firmly established as a major a part of the monetary system.
Nevertheless, for entrepreneurs centered on NFT improvement, this yr has been much less favorable.
Seed Funding is Maturing
The period of launching a mission with a small seed spherical is lengthy gone. Within the age of AI, the sources wanted to develop a usable product have drastically decreased. This implies founders can “bootstrap” (self-fund) for for much longer, solely needing to enter the funding marketplace for assist after they have one thing really substantial to indicate.
Recommendation: Try to Companion with Coinbase Ventures
I’ve seen too many so-called “VC connectors” – individuals who introduce founders to traders however take a minimize. Extra importantly, these connectors principally know third-tier traders, making the time funding for founders merely not value it. So, goal to search out somebody who can join you with top-tier corporations like Coinbase Ventures, not area of interest funds just like the “Soulja Boy Fund” (Word: Soulja Boy is a US rapper; his fund is small and has restricted funding affect).
Cryptocurrency is Progressively Maturing
Wanting on the greatest funding rounds this yr, the pattern is sort of clear.
In fact, the crypto area nonetheless retains a few of its “speculative vitality” (referring to the high-risk, high-speculation traits distinctive to crypto):
- Binance: Secured large funding from the UAE to construct a top-tier altcoin buying and selling platform;
- Pump.enjoyable: Set information for the variety of meme cash issued per second;
- TON: Gained vital consideration by leveraging Telegram’s widespread adoption in crypto;
- Monad: Its L1 blockchain constructed large neighborhood hype, however its subsequent TGE efficiency was disappointing.
Each business cycle wants some “spice,” however if you happen to look past the quick time period, you possibly can clearly see the maturing pattern in crypto.
Two of the most important funding rounds this yr got here from prediction markets – Polymarket and Kalshi.
As talked about earlier, 2025 was a banner yr for prediction markets, the one Web3 sector to actually entice a mainstream shopper viewers. Polymarket and Kalshi are nonetheless fiercely competing, aggressively pursuing extra top-tier partnerships, and their providers are actually built-in into Google Search and main mainstream media.
The stablecoin sector additionally carried out strongly in 2025:
- Bullish: Co-founded by Brendan Blumer, beforehand controversial for EOS, raised $1 billion in its IPO;
- Ripple: Efficiently attracted Wall Avenue capital to construct in the stablecoin area;
- Circle: Raised $1 billion by its IPO, after which its inventory worth noticed a major surge;
- Cost big Stripe: Its launch of the L1 blockchain “Tempo” proves fintech corporations are additionally actively coming into the crypto area;
- Determine: Accomplished a billion-dollar IPO, additionally centered on stablecoin-related enterprise.
Lastly, cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Gemini additionally accomplished funding rounds, doubtless their remaining rounds earlier than potential IPOs.
The entire funding for the aforementioned 4 “speculative” tasks was roughly $3.27 billion;
The prediction market sector raised a complete of $3 billion;
And tasks in extra mature sectors inside Web3 raised a complete of $3.4 billion.
Cryptocurrency at present is not confined to a single identification.
It’s splitting into three parallel tracks:
- The Hypothesis & Tradition monitor (e.g., meme cash, area of interest blockchains);
- The Data & Fact Markets monitor (centered on prediction markets);
- The Actual Economic system Monetary Infrastructure monitor (e.g., stablecoins, RWA).
