Galaxy Ventures Secures $175M-$180M Fundraise Despite Crypto VC Challenges

Galaxy Ventures, a prominent crypto venture fund, is on track to secure a substantial fundraise of approximately $175 million to $180 million by the end of June. This capital will be allocated to build a diverse portfolio of 30 crypto and blockchain startups, with a particular focus on payments and stablecoins. The fund has already surpassed its initial target of $150 million, indicating strong investor confidence despite the challenging environment for crypto venture capital.

The successful fundraise comes at a time when the crypto venture capital landscape is facing significant headwinds. Despite an industry-friendly administration in the United States, venture capital investments in crypto and blockchain startups have been relatively scarce. Earlier this year, Galaxy Ventures reported that 2024 was a tough year for crypto VC, with potential market drivers such as Bitcoin ETFs, the memecoin craze, and AI agents not being particularly suited to venture capital.

According to the firm's report, venture capitalists invested $11.5 billion into crypto and blockchain-focused startups across 2,153 deals in 2024. This figure, while slightly higher than the $10 billion invested in 2023, is significantly lower than the over $30 billion invested in 2022. This trend highlights the volatility and uncertainty in the crypto venture capital market.

Crypto VC investments in America have also decreased by 22% to around $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025. This decline is part of a broader shift in venture capital investments, with the AI sector taking 58% of global venture dollars in the first quarter. Despite this, global crypto VC funding reached $4.8 billion in Q1, the highest since Q3 2022. However, a significant portion of this funding came from a $2 billion investment in Binance from an Abu Dhabi investment firm.

The initial close for the Galaxy Ventures Fund I was in June 2024, when it raised $113 million. At that time, the fund's portfolio included a variety of innovative startups, such as Ethena, a synthetic dollar issuer; M^Zero, a stablecoin liquidity DeFi protocol; Monad, a layer-1 blockchain; Plume, a layer-2 tokenized asset chain; and Renzo, a protocol supporting derivatives on assets locked in EigenLayer and Ethereum. These investments reflect the fund's strategic focus on cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions within the crypto and blockchain space.

Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz remains optimistic about the future of crypto and Bitcoin. In a recent statement, he emphasized that crypto is "doing what it’s supposed to," acting as a report card on financial stewardship. Novogratz noted that in times of uncertainty, crypto reflects both the flight to safety and a long-term bet on a new financial system. However, he also acknowledged that as a young asset, it still needs calm to grow, and adoption doesn’t thrive in disorder.