Why crypto VC funds just raised billions

There’s never a dull moment onchain. Here’s what you need to know this week:

BTC is hovering around $80k. From CLARITY Act optimism to ETF inflows, why prices have been relatively unaffected by macro turmoil.

Is crypto VC back? Major crypto investors have just raised billions to deploy in stablecoins, AI, and more.

Prediction markets on sports. Who’s poised to win the pro basketball and hockey conference semifinals?

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MARKET BYTES

Bitcoin holds around $80k despite choppy economic picture

Over the last month, bitcoin prices ticked steadily upward, peaking above $82,800 last week — the highest level since January. This week, amid continued uncertainty in the Middle East and a worse-than-expected U.S. inflation report, BTC has been trading slightly lower, with prices generally holding around $80,000. (Prices briefly fell below $79,900 on Wednesday before starting to bounce back.)

According to government data, inflation is on the rise mainly because high energy costs have driven prices for many goods and services upward. And rising inflation, combined with a strong jobs report last week, has many market watchers anticipating that the Federal Reserve will wait until next year to cut interest rates. (As of Wednesday, 70% of Coinbase Predictions traders believe that there will be no rate cuts in 2026.)

Despite all this macroeconomic uncertainty, BTC continues to be less impacted than most other asset classes.

Here’s more news you should know…

The CLARITY Act is headed for Senate committee vote

One potential reason for bitcoin’s recent relative durability is optimism from traders that Congress will finally tackle a major piece of crypto legislation that has been under debate for months.

The CLARITY Act — which is headed to a markup vote in the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday — would answer some of the biggest questions hanging over the U.S. crypto industry. The bill would define the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the agency overseeing crypto markets, codify the right to self-custody of crypto assets, and create legal definitions for key crypto terms including “mature blockchain” and “digital commodity.”

In recent weeks, a bipartisan compromise was brokered to settle a debate between crypto firms and traditional banks over how stablecoin rewards would be treated. “In the end, the banks were able to get more restrictions on rewards, but we protected what matters — the ability for Americans to earn rewards, based on real usage of crypto platforms and networks,” said Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad in a statement.

What happens next? After markup, the bill will be put before the full Senate, where it will require 60 votes to move forward. At that point the bill goes back to the House of Representatives, where the new version would need to be put to a vote. If it passes in the House, it goes to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

Crypto ETF flows have continued to surge

Another major boost for markets? Rising ETF inflows. Crypto ETFs pulled in $857.9 million in net new capital last week, marking their sixth consecutive week of positive growth and the strongest performance since late April, according to CoinShares data.

The rally was led by funds holding BTC ($706 million in inflows) and ETH ($77 million in inflows, snapping a week-long streak of outflows). XRP is also seeing rising interest, with spot XRP ETFs seeing $26 million in inflows on Monday – its highest daily total since January. "This likely reflects Improving sentiment around the CLARITY Act," noted CoinShares’ research chief James Butterfill.

New player… After launching on April 8, Morgan Stanley’s new spot BTC ETF tallied $194 million in inflows and zero down days in its first month of trading.

VENTURE TIME

Crypto VC giants just raised billions of dollars

While crypto markets are increasingly showing signs of life, crypto venture capital activity hasn’t quite caught up — with around $5.4 billion doled out by VC firms so far this year, down more than $2 billion compared to the same period in 2025.

But that could be changing quickly. In the last few weeks, some of the biggest players in crypto VC have raised billions of dollars to deploy in new funds targeting stablecoins, financial infrastructure, and AI and agentic commerce.

Meanwhile, crypto firms targeting those problems have begun receiving significant infusions of capital. What’s the latest? Here’s what you need to know.

Haun Ventures and a16z crypto just raised a combined $3.2 billion for new funds

Amid a slowing market for crypto venture capital, Haun Ventures raised $1 billion for two new funds, and a16z crypto raised $2.2 billion for its fifth crypto venture fund. The raises, which came after Dragonfly Capital raised $650 million for its fourth crypto fund earlier this year, could point to renewed optimism, after a period of slowing crypto venture capital activity. (Last month, $659 million was doled out across 63 deals by venture capitalists in the sector, down 74% from March and near the lowest levels in almost two years.)

Haun Ventures’ fund will be split evenly across early-stage and late-stage investments in crypto and blockchain companies, and will also include investments in companies adjacent to crypto blending financial services, AI, and alternative investments, according to Bloomberg. a16z’s fund will be focused entirely on crypto entrepreneurs, the firm says.

“There are deep, transformational shifts going on within technology,” said Katie Haun, the firm’s CEO, in an interview. “One of those is AI, another one is digital assets.”

Circle just raised $222 million for its Arc blockchain

Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, announced a major funding round for its stablecoin-focused blockchain via a token presale, with investment coming from firms including BlackRock, a16z crypto, ARK Invest, and Haun Ventures.

Arc, which is launching this summer, is a Layer 1 blockchain built by Circle that aims to become “an economic operating system for the internet.” The network counts Goldman Sachs, Visa, and Mastercard as design partners, and will support use cases including cross-border transactions, onchain credit infrastructure, and AI agent-powered commerce.

The blockchain’s fundraise comes as Circle’s USDC continues to see significant growth, with $21.5 trillion in transaction volume last quarter, up 263% from the year prior.

Arc, along with the Stripe-built Tempo blockchain, highlight a major shift in how major institutions are now willing to utilize blockchains. “As the world’s finance moves onchain, we believe that a handful of blockchain networks will together emerge as the new backbone of the financial system,” wrote a16z crypto’s Ali Yahya and Noah Levine. “Arc is in a strong position to become one of them.”

Other firms are rapidly raising funds to build onchain financial infrastructure

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which allows banks, exchanges, and governments to monitor blockchain data for illicit transactions, raised $120 million in Series D funding from investors including Deustche Bank, JPMorgan, and Nasdaq Ventures. Elliptic, which is now valued at $670 million, says the funding will be used to expand its global presence.

Meanwhile, stablecoin startup Osero closed a funding round worth $13.5 million to build out its stablecoin yield product; Canton Network, a privacy-focused institutional blockchain, is reportedly on the verge of closing a $300 million funding round led by a16z crypto; and crypto payments giant Ripple secured a $200 million credit line with global investment firm Neuberger Berman to support the expansion of its prime brokerage, Ripple Prime.

Read about USDC

PREDICTION MARKETS

Who will win the pro basketball and hockey semifinals?

We’re nearing the semifinals of both the pro basketball and pro-hockey playoffs. As the field whittles down, who do traders see as having the best probability to stay in the running to win a championship?

Here’s what they’re saying as of Wednesday around 10:30am EDT.

Pro Basketball Series Winner: Minnesota vs. San Antonio

91%, San Antonio

What markets say: Led by Defensive Player of the Year Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio has remained the heavy favorite in the series, even after initially falling behind 1-0. After Wembanyama led the Texas team to a blowout Game 5 victory, traders seem to think this series is over.

What analysts say: "San Antonio has shown over the course of this series that they have enough talent in every facet of the game to answer the moment. Now they have a chance to survive — in every sense of the word — and advance." – The Athletic

Pro Basketball Series Winner: Cleveland vs. Detroit

57%, Detroit

What markets say: After running out to a 2-0 series lead, Detroit saw their probability rise to as high as 90%. But after falling to Cleveland twice in a row to even up the series, traders think the series is approaching a toss up, with Cleveland’s probability of winning rising 13 percentage points, to 43%, after winning Game 4.

What analysts say: “[Cleveland] have played 11 games this postseason. The home team has won every game… In this series, Cleveland is 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road. That trend can’t continue if the Cavs are to advance. They need a win in Detroit.” – The Athletic

Pro Hockey Series Winner: Las Vegas vs. Anaheim

80%, Las Vegas

What markets say: Las Vegas started the series as heavy favorites, before seeing their probability fall nearly 20 percentage points after losing in Game 4 to Anaheim. An overtime Game 5 victory, though, has traders thinking they’re on the verge of closing this one out.

What analysts say: “[Las Vegas] controlled possession for large stretches of overtime because they trusted their game… This is where Vegas’ playoff pedigree becomes difficult for opponents to overcome with many players on this roster having already played in elimination games, conference finals, and Stanley Cup Finals.” — The Hockey Writers

Pro Hockey Series Winner: Montreal vs. Buffalo

51%, Buffalo

What markets say: Montreal began as the underdogs, before seeing their probability rise to as high as 70% this week after jumping out to a 2-1 series lead. But after losing to Buffalo in Game 4 to tie the series up, traders think the series is essentially a tossup.

What analysts say: “[Montreal] did not play poorly, and they carried the bulk of the play in the third period as they tried to tie it up. But as they travel to Buffalo for Game 5, it will be difficult for them to avoid the feeling that they could have been in a much better position than they find themselves in now.” – The Athletic

Make your prediction

TUNE IN

Stablecoins: In Practice and Policy

Are stablecoins about to go mainstream, or will unclear regulations stymie growth? We posed the question to Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, and Meron Colbeci, chief product officer at Checkout.com, in the new episode of “Evolving Money.” Tune in here for their take on the future of one of crypto’s most important innovations.

And don’t forget to check out our previous episodes on portfolio diversification, tokenization, and the integration of crypto with TradFi. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Listen to “Evolving Money”