Crypto VC deal numbers fall to five-year low as investors become more cautious

Odaily reports that data shows the number of monthly venture capital deals in the crypto industry fell to approximately 50 in May, returning to pre-2021 levels when the industry was much smaller than it is today.

The decline in deals is evident across almost all categories, with infrastructure and crypto financial services, two of the most active sectors in the past, also approaching multi-year lows.

The report suggests that the cooling of fundraising is mainly influenced by two factors: first, investor attention and capital are continuously shifting towards AI, structurally squeezing funding in the crypto sector; second, the crypto industry currently lacks the highly attractive early-stage projects that were abundant during the 2021 and 2024 cycles, leading investment institutions to become more cautious in their screening process.