Galaxy Ventures Aims to Secure $180M to Support 30 Crypto Startups by June

Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP, led by Michael Novogratz, is poised to secure between $175 million and $180 million by the close of June, exceeding its initial target of $150 million.

These funds will be allocated to a portfolio of around 30 startups concentrating on crypto and blockchain infrastructure, particularly stablecoins and payment systems, as per an April 17 report from Bloomberg citing insider sources.

The fund’s achievements are significant in light of the wider decline in crypto venture capital.

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2024 Presented Challenges for Crypto VCs

In spite of indications of renewed retail engagement prompted by BTC ETFs, meme token speculation, and AI implementations, Novogratz’s firm recognized that 2024 was tough for crypto VCs.

Galaxy Digital had previously mentioned that these trends—especially the emergence of AI agents—do not naturally align with conventional venture funding frameworks.

Data reflects this caution. In 2024, venture capitalists invested $11.5 billion in the crypto and distributed database arena across 2,153 transactions—slightly up from $10 billion in 2023 but a significant drop from over $30 billion during the bull crypto market in 2022.

Crypto VC activity based in the U.S. has also decreased in 2025, with PitchBook noting a 22% decrease in funding in Q1, which reached around $1.3 billion. Meanwhile, AI-focused startups have captured 58% of global venture capital this year.

On a global scale, Q1 2025 witnessed crypto VC funding rise to $4.8 billion—the highest since Q3 2022—as reported by CryptoRank. However, a $2 billion investment in Binance from Abu Dhabi’s MGX comprised nearly half of that total, indicating that the recovery is still uneven.

Galaxy Ventures Fund I initially gathered $113 million during its first close in June 2024.

Its investment portfolio already includes synthetic dollar platform Ethena, DeFi stablecoin network M^Zero, Layer-1 platform Monad, tokenized asset Layer-2 chain Plume, and Renzo, which facilitates derivative staking on ETH using EigenLayer.

In spite of market fluctuations, Novogratz remains hopeful. In a post on X dated April 16, he remarked that Bitcoin is “serving as a report card on financial stewardship,” and noted that during times of uncertainty, it functions as both a safe haven and a long-term wager on a new financial paradigm.

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Crypto VC Funding Jumps to $7.3B in Q1 Despite Market Stagnation

Funding for crypto venture capital surged to $7.3 billion in Q1 2025, across 550 transactions, as reported by Messari. March experienced a notable increase in activity, even amid generally stable prices for major cryptocurrencies.

~$154 million in venture funding this week.

Q1 wrapping up with $7.3B+ raised across more than 550 rounds. https://t.co/aPQcrAdnG6

— Messari (@MessariCrypto) March 28, 2025

Despite lackluster performance from leading cryptocurrencies, venture capital enthusiasm stayed robust, particularly for early-stage investments. Seed funding of between $1 million and $10 million accounted for approximately 60% of total funding, whereas larger rounds above $50 million constituted just over 6%.

A major impetus for this resurgence is the rise in AI-related investments. More than 30% of Q1 transactions centered around AI platforms and infrastructure, with leading funds committing between 14% and 22% of their investment portfolios to AI.

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The article Galaxy Ventures Targets $180M Raise To Back 30 Crypto Startups By June first appeared on 99Bitcoins.