September Web3 Funding Report: Capital Chases Liquidity and Maturity

Original translation by: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

Web3 funding surged in September 2025 but did not reach its peak.

160 deals raised $7.2 billion, the highest total since the spring surge. However, with the notable exception of seed-stage Flying Tulip, later-stage capital investment dominated, as was the case in the previous two months.

بازار Overview: Strong but Top-Heavy

Figure 1: Number of Web3 capital deployments and transactions at each stage from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised (disclosed): US$7.2 billion
• Disclosed transactions: 106
• Total transactions: 160

At first glance, September appears to be a high-profile return of risk appetite. However, with the exception of Flying Tulip, most capital investment has flowed into later-stage companies. This is a continuation of a trend we’ve observed in our recent quarterly market reports and aligns with VC insights we gathered at the ٹوکن2049 Singapore conference. September 2025 further demonstrates that while early-stage deal activity remains robust, real money is seeking maturity and liquidity.

Market Highlight: Flying Tulip ($200 million seed round, $1 billion valuation)

Flying Tulip raised $200 million in its seed round at a unicorn valuation. The platform aims to unify spot trading, perpetual contracts, lending, and structured yields into a single on-chain exchange, employing a hybrid AMM/order book model and supporting cross-chain deposits and volatility-adjusted lending.

Web3 Venture Fund: Shrinking in Size

Figure 2: Number of Web3 venture capital funds launched from January 2020 to September 2025 and the capital raised. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

New funds in September 2025:

• Onigiri Capital, $50 million: Focused on early-stage infrastructure and fintech in Asia.
• Archetype Fund III, $100 million: focused on modularity, developer tools, and consumer protocols.

Fund launches cooled in September 2025. Only two new funds were launched, both relatively small in size and highly focused on a single theme. This trend points to selectivity rather than a slowdown: venture capitalists are still raising funds, but around sharper, more focused themes.

Pre-seed rounds: A downward trend lasting 9 months

Figure 3: Number of pre-seed stage capital deployments and deals from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised: US$9.8 million
• Disclosed transactions: 5
• Median funding round: $1.9 million

Pre-seed funding continues to decline, both in terms of the number of deals and the amount of capital raised. This stage remains weak, with few high-profile investors participating. Funding is scarce for founders at this stage, but those that do successfully raise funds do so because of a compelling narrative and strong technological conviction.

Pre-seeding highlight: Melee Markets ($3.5 million)

Melee Markets, built on Solana, allows users to speculate on influencers, events, and trending topics, combining prediction markets and social trading. Backed by Variant and DBA, it’s a clever attempt to capture attention streams as asset classes.

Seed Round: Tulip Mania

Figure 4: Number of seed-stage capital deployments and deals from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised: US$359 million
• Disclosed transactions: 26

Seed-stage funding saw significant growth, but this was entirely thanks to Flying Tulip’s $200 million round. Without it, funding in this category would have been roughly the same as in previous months.

More importantly, Flying Tulip’s structure is not typical fundraising. Its on-chain redemption rights provide investors with capital security and yield exposure without sacrificing upside potential. The project is not consuming its own funding; instead, it uses DeFi yields to finance its growth, incentives, and buybacks. This is a capital-efficient, DeFi-native innovation that could influence how future protocols self-fund.

While Flying Tulip investors do have the right to withdraw these funds at any time, it is still a significant capital investment for Web3 venture capitalists who would otherwise have invested in other early-stage projects through less liquid instruments: namely SAFE and/or SAFT. This is another manifestation of the current trend among Web3 investors to seek exposure to more liquid assets.

Series A: Tends to Stabilize

Figure 5: Number of Series A funding rounds and deals from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised: US$177 million
• Disclosed transactions: 10
• Median funding round: $17.7 million

After a sharp decline in August, Series A activity recovered slightly in September, but it wasn’t a breakout month. Deal volume and deployed capital were just around the 2025 average. Investors remained selective, favoring later-stage momentum over chasing early-stage growth.

Series A Highlights: Digital Entertainment Asset ($38 million)

Singapore-based Digital Entertainment Asset has raised $38 million to build a Web3 gaming, ESG, and advertising platform with real-world payment capabilities. Backed by SBI Holdings and ASICS Ventures, the move reflects the growing interest in integrating blockchain with mainstream consumer industries in Asia.

Private token sale: Huge sums of money, participation from prominent figures

Figure 6: Capital Deployment and Transaction Volume of Private Token Sales from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised: US$180 million
• Disclosed transactions: 2

Private token activity remains concentrated, with a single massive funding round completing the process. The pattern of recent months continues: fewer token rounds, larger checks, and exchange-driven gameplay absorbing liquidity.

Highlight: Crypto.com ($178 million)

Crypto.com has raised a massive $178 million, reportedly in partnership with Trump Media. The exchange continues to push for global accessibility and mass-market کرپٹو payment tools.

Public Token Sale: Bitcoin’s Profit Moment

Figure 7: Capital Deployment and Transaction Volume of Public Token Sales from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

• Total capital raised: US$126.2 million
• Disclosed transactions: 16

Public token sales remain active, driven by two compelling narratives: Bitcoin yield (BTCFi) and AI agents. This serves as a reminder that public markets are still chasing narratives.

Highlight: Lombard ($94.7 million)

Lombard is bringing Bitcoin to DeFi with the launch of LBTC, an interest-bearing, cross-chain, liquid BTC asset designed to unify Bitcoin liquidity across ecosystems. This is part of the growing “BTCFi” trend, where users earn DeFi yields through BTC.

یہ مضمون انٹرنیٹ سے لیا گیا ہے: September Web3 Funding Report: Capital Chases Liquidity and MaturityRecommended Articles

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