Bitcoin News Today: VCs Boost Bitcoin DeFi as Institutional Adoption Surges

In recent months, the venture capital (VC) landscape in the crypto industry has shown a renewed focus on Bitcoin, particularly in the DeFi sector, as institutional interest in BTC continues to rise. According to Cointelegraph, the Bitcoin DeFi market has attracted $175 million across 32 VC deals in the first half of the year, demonstrating growing demand for BTC-based financial services [1]. At the same time, Bitcoin treasury companies are acquiring billions worth of BTC for long-term strategic reserves, further solidifying Bitcoin's role as a major institutional asset.

Beyond Bitcoin, tokenization and stablecoin infrastructure remain strong areas of VC investment. Inveniam Capital, a decentralized data infrastructure provider, has committed $20 million to Mantra, a layer-1 blockchain, to facilitate institutional-grade tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs) [2]. This partnership is expected to significantly increase total value locked (TVL) on Mantra Chain and support compliant RWA tokenization as the sector expands. The collaboration aims to provide advanced DeFi applications and regulatory-grade transparency, with a focus on institutional access in both the United States and the United Arab Emirates [2].

Stable, a layer-1 blockchain network centered around Tether’s USDT, has raised $28 million in a seed funding round to scale infrastructure and accelerate global adoption of the stablecoin [3]. The funding was led by Bitfinex, Hack VC, and Franklin Templeton, among others. The project cited the recent passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act as a key regulatory development supporting stablecoin growth, particularly in payments infrastructure [3].

French fintech Spiko, a platform offering tokenized U.S. and EU T-Bill Money Market Funds, has raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Index Ventures. The funding will be used to expand access to tokenized money markets and bridge the digital asset adoption gap between Europe and the U.S. [4]. To date, Spiko has processed over $900 million in working capital, with expectations for assets under management to surpass $1 billion by year-end [4].

Dakota, a stablecoin-powered business banking platform, has closed a $12.5 million Series A round led by CoinFund. The company aims to offer faster, more efficient global payments and cross-border transactions using digital dollars [5]. As the stablecoin market capitalization reaches $268 billion, the firm is positioned to benefit from regulatory advancements like the GENIUS Act [5].

Digital investment platform Jarsy has raised $5 million in a pre-seed round led by Breyer Capital, enabling retail investors to access pre-IPO private equity markets via tokenized shares with a minimum investment as low as $10 [6]. The funding will support Jarsy’s global compliance strategy and expansion of its private equity offerings [6].

BridgePort, an off-exchange settlement layer, has raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Further Ventures to expand its settlement network. The platform serves as middleware connecting exchanges, trading firms, and custodians, improving capital allocation and settlement efficiency [7].

[1] https://coinmarketcap.com/community/articles/68960b099a14c16682dc545f/