Crypto Fundraising weekly
Dates: 28 Sep – 04 Oct 2025

This week's biggest funding round

Flying Tulip raised $200M in a Seed funding round from Brevan Howard Digital, CoinFund, DWF Labs, FalconX, Hypersphere, Lemniscap, Nascent, Republic, Selini Capital, Sigil Fund, SIG DTI (a Susquehanna International Group Company), Tioga Capital Partners, Virtuals Protocol.

The platform is positioned as a full‑stack on‑chain exchange integrating spot trading, derivatives, lending, stablecoins, and insurance into a unified cross‑margin system. A unique “on‑chain redemption right” lets investors burn their FT tokens to reclaim their original capital, offering downside protection while preserving upside growth. Team allocations are earned through open market buybacks rather than initial grants, aligning incentives with long‑term performance.

Pre-seed and Seed investment rounds

Cheeze raised undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round from Crypto com Capital, X ventures, Arcadia, BABs Agency, Black Dragon, DCI capital (Dutch Crypto Investors), MH Ventures, Newman Capital, OSF, Brian D Evans, Adrian Lai.

Cheeze is a blockchain-powered rewards app that turns everyday spending into earning opportunities. By linking a bank card or crypto wallet, users automatically earn Stable $Points on qualifying transactions at over 1,000,000 merchants. Points can be swapped for $USDC, spent via the Cheeze Mastercard, or reinvested in the ecosystem. Cheeze combines fiat and crypto rails, offering instant notifications, loyalty features, referral bonuses, and real-time redemption opportunities.

BaseVol raised $3M in a Seed funding round from Neoclassic Capital*, Virtuals Ventures, Baboon VC, Woori Technology Investment (WTIC).

BaseVol is an options-​trading platform built on the Base blockchain, offering everything from simple 0DTE (zero-days-to-expiry) trades to sophisticated structured vault strategies. The platform aims to democratize options access—combining gamified trading for retail users with advanced derivatives infrastructure for institutions. Their “Genesis Vault” offering hints at leverage and vault-based yield mechanics.

Flying Tulip raised $200M in a Seed funding round from Brevan Howard Digital, CoinFund, DWF Labs, FalconX, Hypersphere, Lemniscap, Nascent, Republic, Selini Capital, Sigil Fund, SIG DTI (a Susquehanna International Group Company), Tioga Capital Partners, Virtuals Protocol.

The platform is positioned as a full‑stack on‑chain exchange integrating spot trading, derivatives, lending, stablecoins, and insurance into a unified cross‑margin system. A unique “on‑chain redemption right” lets investors burn their FT tokens to reclaim their original capital, offering downside protection while preserving upside growth. Team allocations are earned through open market buybacks rather than initial grants, aligning incentives with long‑term performance.

Drake Exchange raised $1M in a Seed funding round from CMS Holdings*.

Drake Exchange is a decentralized on-chain perpetual DEX built on the Monad network, combining features of centralized exchanges with DeFi’s transparency. It offers a full limit order book, cross-margin trading, collateral swaps, and backstop AMM liquidity to improve depth and execution. Users can trade with up to 50× leverage, participate as liquidity providers through “Earn,” and leverage automated vaults for delta-neutral yield strategies.

Nolan raised $2M in a Seed funding round from HTX Ventures (ex Huobi Ventures), KuCoin Ventures, Gate Labs, Ledger Capital, IBC Group, Gem Capital, Fides Capital Group Limited.

Nolan is a Meme + AI-powered Web3 ecosystem blending viral culture with institutional-grade AI insights and DeFi tools. Built for both meme communities and retail investors, Nolan transforms market chaos into transparent opportunities through AI-driven whale tracking, sentiment analysis, and prediction markets. Its community-driven Launchpad fuels the next wave of meme projects, while the $NOLAN token unlocks premium analytics, governance, and early-stage project access.

Other investment rounds

Lighter raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from HAUN Ventures*, Founders fund*, Dragonfly Capital*, Robot Ventures*, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto), Lightspeed, Coatue, CRV, Abstract Ventures, SV Angel, 8VC.

Lighter is a zk-rollup perpetuals protocol delivering provable, non-custodial trading with cryptographic fairness guarantees. Built on Arbitrum, it combines the performance of centralized exchanges with the transparency of DeFi. Lighter features verifiable on-chain order matching, liquidation execution, and seamless integration with aggregators like 1inch, ensuring deep liquidity and reliable price discovery.

Novastro raised $2M in a Public sale  funding round from .

Novastro is a Layer 2 blockchain platform dedicated to the tokenization, trading, and yield generation of real-world assets (RWAs). Leveraging AI-driven analytics, it integrates MoveVM and EigenLayer AVS to provide Ethereum-level security and scalability, facilitating seamless interoperability between Move and EVM ecosystems. Novastro’s ecosystem centers around RUSD, a stablecoin backed by tangible assets like government bonds, gold, and real estate, ensuring stability and efficiency in transactions.

Tea Protocol raised $3M in a Public sale  funding round from .

tea is a decentralized protocol that rewards open-source software (OSS) developers for their contributions, enhancing the sustainability and security of the software supply chain. By leveraging a novel consensus mechanism called Proof of Contribution, tea quantifies the impact of OSS projects and allocates rewards accordingly. Developers can register their projects, earn rewards based on their project’s influence, and accept donations from the community.

National Bitcoin ATM raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from Bitcoin Depot.

National Bitcoin ATM is a U.S.-based operator of Bitcoin ATMs with kiosks deployed across multiple states, users can buy Bitcoin instantly with cash—ranging from $10 to $15,000 daily—and transfer it directly to their own wallets for self-custody. The service emphasizes privacy with minimal KYC requirements and aims to lower barriers for fiat-to-crypto access by providing fast, simple, and compliant Bitcoin purchases at physical locations nationwide.

Securitize raised undisclosed amount in a  funding round from ARK Invest.

Securitize is a compliance platform and protocol for issuing and managing digital securities on the blockchain.

Yield Basis raised $5M in a Public sale  funding round from .

Yield Basis, developed by Curve Finance founder Michael Egorov, is an AMM-based DeFi protocol designed to eliminate impermanent loss for liquidity providers. It uses 2× leverage via crvUSD to optimize liquidity positions, potentially increasing yields for BTC and ETH holders while maintaining sustainability. Liquidity positions are tokenized into yield-bearing assets like ybBTC and ybETH, enabling staking for additional rewards.

Lava raised $17.5M in a  funding round from Peter Jurdjevic, Bijan Tehrani, Zach White, Saurabh Gupta, Terry Angelos, Aaron Suplizo.

Lava is a financial platform that enables users to save in Bitcoin while spending in dollars. It offers a Bitcoin-backed debit card, allowing users to make everyday purchases seamlessly. By integrating Bitcoin savings with traditional spending, Lava provides a bridge between cryptocurrency holdings and conventional financial3-5 Word Desription: Bitcoin-backed debit card.

Ethena Labs raised $14M in a  funding round from MEXC Ventures.

Ethena is a startup developing the first-ever ‘internet bond’ and a new Ethereum-based stablecoin USDe that achieves stability by hedging price exposure through shorting Ethereum using perpetual swaps, while their savings bond offers individuals worldwide a dollar-denominated savings instrument with the benefits of decentralized finance.

Bastion Asset Management raised undisclosed amount in a M&A  funding round from CoinShares Ventures.

Bastion Asset Management is a London-based, FCA-regulated alternative investment manager focused exclusively on crypto. It operates with an institutional approach, leveraging quantitative alpha strategies that target coin traits to generate returns independent of market directionality.

AmbrusStudio (E4C: Final Salvation) raised $15M in a  funding round from Bolts Capital.

E4C: Final Salvation is set to become the first mobile MOBA game in the Web3 game field to incorporate eSports into its gameplay. Created by Ambrus Studio.

xMoney raised $21.5M in a  funding round from Sui Foundation*, MultiversX.

xMoney is a licensed global payment infrastructure enabling merchants and users to transact seamlessly across fiat, crypto, and card rails. Built for compliance under EU MiCA regulations, xMoney offers tools for payment processing, invoicing, subscriptions, and card issuance. Its ecosystem is powered by $XMN, a utility and governance token replacing UTK, with benefits including staking yields, fee reductions, loyalty rewards, and governance rights. With its regulated framework and multi-asset support, xMoney bridges traditional finance and Web3 payments, providing a secure, scalable, and accessible digital economy solution for businesses and individuals worldwide.

KGeN (ex Kratos) raised $13.5M in a  funding round from Jump Crypto*, Accel, Prosus Ventures.

KGeN (Kratos Gaming Network) is a Web3-powered gamer reputation platform leveraging Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning (zkML) to create verifiable, data-rich player profiles. Built on Ethereum, KGeN empowers gamers to own and flex their gaming data, fostering engagement and loyalty. It integrates e-commerce and engagement tools for publishers to optimize CAC and LTV metrics, and offers features like gamified user acquisition, community building, and exclusive rewards. KGeN aims to unify global gaming with decentralized ownership and a focus on emerging markets.

Talus Labs raised $10M in a Strategic  funding round from Sui Foundation, Walrus Protocol.

Talus Network is an blockchain platform aims to revolutionize consumer AI applications through decentralization, addressing the limitations of centralized AI systems. By incorporating Move's smart contract security, performance, and object-oriented programming, Talus provides a robust ecosystem for various AI smart agent applications, including DeFi, intents, gaming, governance, and Initial Model Offering (IMO). The MoveVM technology enhances security, speed, and developer experience, enabling the creation of performant applications with increased safety and efficiency.

* fund, that lead investment round