Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

Author｜jk

As the crypto market enters the second half of 2025, institutional and retail investors are turning their attention to VC token projects backed by renowned venture capital funds. These projects often boast strong financial backing, top-tier technical teams, clear business visions, and sustainable revenue, and have seen significant price growth as altcoins begin to gain momentum.

If these VC coins show signs of rotation, is it possible to ambush some of the coins that have not started to rise?

Let’s select some representatives and analyze the specific performance of these well-known VC investment projects this month, one by one, with key time nodes and important price fluctuations.

Story Protocol (IP):

Price change: approximately $7-8 at the beginning of the month → mid-month high of $14.85 (+75%) → current price of $9-10

Story Protocol performed exceptionally well in September, reaching a new all-time high of $14.85 on September 21st, becoming the month's best-performing VC token. IP tokens experienced a steady and rapid rise in value during the first two weeks of September, soaring from $8.50 at the beginning of the month to a peak of $14.85 within two weeks, a 75% increase.

This strong performance was driven by Heritage Distilling's completion of an $82 million token buyback and rebranding to IP Strategy, becoming the first Nasdaq-listed company to use IP as a reserve asset, as well as the implementation of multiple practical application scenarios. A technical correction began on September 21st, influenced by the broader market, resulting in a moderate decline.

Vana (VANA):

Price changes: Around $4.20 at the beginning of the month → Low of $3.74 on September 4 (-11%) → Rebounded to around $5.58 in the middle of the month (+49%) → Current price of $4.36

Vana's September performance showed a clear V-shaped rebound pattern. After hitting a historical low of $3.74 on September 5, it rebounded strongly in mid-September. According to Bybit data, VANA soared from $4.36 to a high of $5.58 within 24 hours, a single-day increase of over 28%.

This rebound occurred mainly between September 10th and 15th, after which it fell back to its current level of $4.36, likely due to the broader market downturn. However, it is clear that this is also a project that has clearly “surged.”

Movement (MOVE):

Price Change: Around $0.125 at the beginning of the month → High around $0.135 in early September (+8%) → Low of $0.1116 on September 23 (-17%) → Current price $0.1138

Movement's performance in September can be clearly divided into two phases: an initial surge driven by technical upgrades, followed by a subsequent sharp decline due to unlocking pressure. In early September, Movement experienced a brief boost from the Monza upgrade, with the price rising from $0.125 at the beginning of the month to approximately $0.135. This represents a significant increase compared to the August price of around $0.11.

However, the unlocking of 50 million tokens on September 9 (worth approximately $6.25 million) became a turning point. Although the project's 24-hour trading volume surged by 65%, the selling pressure brought about by the unlocking ultimately overwhelmed the positive technical factors, and the price fell to $0.1116 on September 23. This is also a project that has already seen a clear increase.

Berachain (BERA):

Price change: approximately $2.30 at the beginning of the month → $2.40 in mid-September (+4%) → current price of $2.61 (monthly +13%)

Berachain has seen a 10.2% increase over the past seven days, bringing its monthly gain to approximately 13%, making it the second-best performing VC token in September. Unlike other projects experiencing significant volatility, BERA has shown a steady upward trend, with the majority of gains concentrated in late September, reflecting market recognition of its Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism.

This gradual rise shows that the project's fundamentals are relatively solid. However, if VC coins are indeed following a rotational growth logic, then Bera has clearly not seen a significant short-term increase.

Zircuit (ZRC):

Price change: approximately $0.035 at the beginning of the month → approximately $0.028 in mid-September (-20%) → current price $0.026 (-26% monthly)

According to reports, Zircuit experienced a surge in July, rising from $0.0222 to $0.0505, a 125% increase. However, this surge did not continue into September.

ZRC is currently trading at approximately $0.026, down 7.2% over the past seven days and approximately 26% monthly. Despite the launch of a $495,000 grant program on September 16th, the overall cooling of AI sentiment and technical adjustments following July's surge have impacted its price performance. This pullback primarily represents a correction to the previous excessive price increases. Meanwhile, the previous surge has raised questions about the possibility of a subsequent price pullback.

Particle Network (PARTI):

Price Change: Around $0.18 at the beginning of the month → Rebounded to around $0.20 in mid-September (+11%) → Low of $0.1386 on September 24 (-31%) → Current Price: $0.1486

Particle Network experienced significant volatility in September, reaching a record low of $0.1386 on September 24th. While there was a brief rebound in mid-September, the price has plummeted over the past seven days, primarily in late September. This is a common phenomenon across the broader market.

But apart from that, Particle's monthly trend is relatively stable, and there is no pull-up phenomenon, so it needs to be paid close attention.

Kaito (KAITO)：

Price changes: around $1 at the beginning of the month → short-term high of around $1.4 in mid-September → current price of $1.04

KAITO experienced a 65% single-day surge in May, soaring from $0.74 to a peak of $1.54, with a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $577 million. During September, KAITO experienced another short-term rally in mid-month, but failed to break through the previous high, peaking at around $1.47, an increase of approximately 40-50% compared to the beginning of the month.

The current price is $1.04, down 13.5% over the past 7 days, with the main pullback occurring in mid-to-late September.

Worldcoin (WLD):

Price changes: about $0.8 at the beginning of the month → high of about $1.95 in mid-September → current price of about $1.25

Worldcoin experienced an extremely strong surge in mid-September, with an increase of more than 200%. This may be related to the stimulus of news related to the project's ecological development. It has typical technical signals and should be classified as one of the projects that have already been pumped up.

Celestia (TIA):.

Price Change: Around $1.65 at the beginning of the month → High of $1.93 on September 9 (+17%) → Low of $1.48 on September 24 (-23%) → Current Price: $1.41

Celestia reached a monthly high of $1.93 on September 9th. This rise occurred primarily within the first five to six days of September, with an average daily increase of approximately 3%, a steady upward trend. However, it subsequently declined to a low of $1.48 on September 24th, with a more rapid decline occurring primarily within a two-week period in mid-to-late September.

It is not yet clear whether this small increase is a technical game phenomenon or more of a slow increase following the broader market. It is recommended to pay close attention.

Dymension (DYM):

Price change: approximately $0.20 at the beginning of the month → short-term high of approximately $0.24 in mid-September → current price of $0.17

Dymension is currently priced at approximately $0.17. A short-term 10% rebound occurred in mid-September, but it failed to break through key resistance levels and subsequently fell back. As a modular blockchain and rollup infrastructure project, DYM has yet to find effective differentiation in the highly competitive modular market. However, the significant gains seen in other VC coin projects have also yet to materialize.

Scroll (SCR):

Price change: approximately $0.29 at the beginning of the month → mid-September high of approximately $0.31 (+7%) → current price of $0.28 (-3% monthly)

Scroll saw a slight monthly decline of 3%. It had a moderate rise of 7% in mid-September, but it did not see a large increase like VC coins, so it needs to be paid close attention.

Sei Network (SEI):

Price change: approximately $0.27 at the beginning of the month → high of approximately $0.35 in mid-September → current price of $0.28 (-3% monthly)

Sei has fallen 4.9% over the past seven days, with a slight monthly correction of 3%. A modest 11-day rally in mid-September was likely due to Circle's disclosure of SEI as its largest digital asset holding in its IPO filing, as well as institutional recognition from Wyoming, which selected the Sei Network as the candidate blockchain for its WYST state stablecoin. Overall, Sei's gains have been impressive, and further rapid increases are unlikely in the near term.

Blur (BLUR):

Price change: approximately $0.07 at the beginning of the month → mid-September high of approximately $0.09 (+9%) → current price of $0.07556 (-3% monthly)

Blur saw a slight monthly decline of 3%, but experienced a surge in mid-September, likely due to increased short-term activity in the NFT market. However, this rebound was unsustainable, ultimately returning to near the level at the beginning of the month.

StarkNet (STRK):

Price change: approximately $0.12 at the beginning of the month → mid-September high of approximately $0.15 (+7%) → current price of $0.1235 (-12% monthly)

StarkNet has fallen 14.3% over the past seven days and 12% monthly, making it one of the poorest performing VC coins in September. Its trend is similar to that of TIA, and it's unclear whether the gains in the first half of September were due to a broader market recovery or a technical analysis.

Market summary: Technical and fundamental factors diverge, and short-term volatility intensifies

Looking back at the overall performance of VC tokens in September, we can clearly see that the crypto market is undergoing some changes: the traditional "concept hype" model is giving way to a more rational "value investment" mindset. Investors should note that high-quality projects that performed relatively well in this round of September's market may contain greater opportunities.

Projects that require more attention include: Berachain, Particle Network, Dymension, and Scroll. Celestia and StarkNet also have explosive growth potential.