Wu's VC Monthly Report: Binance Accepts Investment from Abu Dhabi, Kraken's Major Acquisition, Sui Team's Massive Token Sale for Storage Project
Author | Wu Says BlockchainAccording to statistics from RootData, in March 2025, there were a total of 74 venture capital projects publicly disclosed by Crypto VCs, representing a month-on-month decrease of 28.8% (down from 104 projects in February 2025) and a year-on-year decrease of 61.3% (down from 191 projects in March 2024). Note: Since not all financing is disclosed in the same month, the above statistics may increase in the future. In January of this year, the number of projects in various sectors is as follows:Among them, CeFi accounts for approximately 14.9%, DeFi for about 27%, NFT/GameFi for around 12.2%, L1/L2 for about 8.1%, RWA/DePIN for approximately 14.9%, Tool/Wallet for about 6.8%, and AI for about 14.9%.The total financing amount in March 2025 reached 2.88 billion USD, showing a month-on-month growth of 198.1% (up from 967 million USD in February 2025) and a year-on-year growth of 153.1% (up from 1.14 billion USD in March 2024). The top 10 rounds by amount are as follows, with 7 being centralized platforms (exchanges or payment platforms):Abu Dhabi MGX invested 2 billion USD in Binance on March 12, acquiring a minority stake. This transaction will be completed 100% in cryptocurrency (Stablecoin), making it the largest cryptocurrency investment transaction to date. The main investor of Abu Dhabi MGX is the government of Abu Dhabi, fully controlled by the Abu Dhabi royal family.On March 20, Kraken acquired the U.S. futures trading platform NinjaTrader for 1.50 billion USD (subject to adjustments based on specific prices). NinjaTrader holds a CFTC-registered FCM license, allowing Kraken to offer cryptocurrency futures and derivatives trading in the U.S. Additionally, leveraging Kraken's securities licenses in the U.K. MiFID, EU MiFID, and Australia, it will accelerate its expansion into European and Australian markets. Kraken's Co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated that this transaction is an important step in building a 24/7, cross-asset institutional trading platform, achieving seamless integration of traditional finance and the cryptocurrency market.The Walrus Foundation completed a private Token sale of 140 million USD on March 20, led by Standard Crypto, with participation from a16z crypto, Electric Capital, Creditcoin, and other institutions. The funds will be used to expand and maintain decentralized data storage protocols and application development platforms. Moreover, the Walrus mainnet will launch on March 27, supporting AI datasets, rich media files, websites, and blockchain history storage, promoting the widespread application of programmable storage to aid secure and efficient data management across various industries.Metaplanet Inc. exercised its 13th stock purchase warrant issued by EVO FUND on March 3, while also seeing large-scale exercise of its 14th stock purchase warrant. Additionally, the company has prematurely redeemed its 7th tranche of ordinary bonds (totaling 2 billion JPY), which was originally due on August 26, 2025, with funding sources aligning with the use adjustment plan announced on February 27, 2024. Metaplanet plans to use this funding to continue increasing its Bitcoin holdings.The cryptocurrency payment company Mesh completed a Series B financing of 82 million USD on March 11, aimed at expanding its stablecoin-based payment settlement network. This round was led by Paradigm, with participation from ConsenSys, QuantumLight, Yolo Investments, Evolution VC, Hike Ventures, Opportuna, and AltaIR Capital. Mesh aims to build a payment network that connects cryptocurrency wallets, exchanges, and payment service providers, allowing users to pay with cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and SOL, while merchants can choose to settle in USDC, PYUSD, or RLUSD.Flowdesk raised 52 million USD in Series B financing on March 4, with investors including HV Capital, BlackRock, Eurazeo, Cathay Innovation, and ISAI. Flowdesk is a French cryptocurrency market maker offering comprehensive cryptocurrency financial services, with core businesses including on-exchange market making, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and fund management.The cross-chain interoperability protocol Across Protocol raised 41 million USD on March 4 by selling its Token ACX to investors, with Paradigm leading the round and participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and others.The latest round of financing has brought Across's total funding to $51 million, following a $10 million token financing round in November 2022.
Tabit Insurance, an insurance company founded by former Bittrex executives, completed a $40 million reserve fund on March 24, composed of Bitcoin, to engage in traditional insurance and reinsurance businesses. It is reported that Tabit Insurance primarily offers Bitcoin-backed liability insurance and is a regulated risk underwriting institution that relies on Bitcoin reserves to formulate traditional insurance priced in USD. The company holds a Level 2 insurance license issued by the Barbados Financial Services Commission.
RedotPay completed a $40 million Series A financing round to enhance its global crypto payment solutions. This financing was completed in December 2024, led by Lightspeed, with significant investments from HSG and Galaxy Ventures.
Axelar Foundation completed a $30 million AXL sale on March 11 to strengthen its interoperability protocol, with investors including prominent venture capital firms such as Arrington Capital, Distributed Global, and Electric Capital. Part of the sold AXL is from community program allocations and has a lock-up period of 6 to 12 months. Additionally, there has been activity in the market related to OTC derivatives associated with AXL, with major holders employing hedging strategies to cope with crypto market volatility, similar to practices in traditional finance.