Investors Pour $258M Into Crypto Startups Despite $2T Market Wipeout

What Happened

Roughly $258 million was invested in crypto firms during the first week of February, according to data from DeFiLlama, underscoring that investors are still backing infrastructure and services tied to blockchain networks despite a market drawdown estimated at about $2 trillion.

Anchorage Digital Raises $100M in Tether-Led Funding Round

Tether said the investment reflects efforts to align stablecoins with regulated financial systems and deepen ties with institutional partners exploring tokenized payments and settlement.

The fresh capital will support expansion into new markets and enhance investigative tools, highlighting the growing role compliance technology plays as regulators increase scrutiny of crypto markets.

The investment was settled using JupUSD, the project’s stablecoin, with ParaFi purchasing JUP tokens and agreeing to a long-term lockup.

Jupiter also announced that prediction market platform Polymarket will integrate with its ecosystem on Solana, signaling continued development across trading applications even during weak market conditions.

Andreessen Horowitz Raises $15B to Back AI and Crypto Innovation

The funds span multiple strategies, including infrastructure, applications, healthcare, growth investments and its “American Dynamism” initiative.

Market Context

Venture funding is continuing to flow into digital asset companies even as the broader crypto market struggles with heavy losses.

Crypto startups raised $258M in one week despite a $2T market downturn.

The federally chartered crypto bank offers custody, trading and crypto-native banking services to institutions and plans to use the funding to expand its operational infrastructure as demand from asset managers and corporations grows.

Blockchain analytics provider TRM Labs raised $70 million in a Series C round led by Blockchain Capital, reaching a $1 billion valuation.

Meanwhile, Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter completed a $35 million strategic round backed by ParaFi Capital.

Last month, Andreessen Horowitz secured more than $15 billion in fresh capital, strengthening its standing as one of the most powerful venture capital firms in the US tech sector.

In 2025 alone, the firm represented over 18% of total venture capital deployed in the United States.

Co-founder Ben Horowitz said the fundraising reflects the firm’s core philosophy that venture capital exists to give people opportunities to build companies and create value.

Why It Matters

Horowitz also linked the firm’s mission to broader geopolitical competition. He warned that US leadership in technology is not guaranteed and could weaken if the country falls behind in foundational innovations.

Details

Key Takeaways:

Funding focused on infrastructure, compliance and institutional services, led by Anchorage Digital’s $100M round.

Venture firms continue betting on long-term growth in AI and blockchain innovation.

Decentralized finance projects led activity with four deals, followed by payments startups with three.

The largest raise came from Anchorage Digital, which secured $100 million in strategic financing led by stablecoin issuer Tether.

The company develops software used by exchanges, banks and government agencies to monitor blockchain transactions, detect fraud and track illicit activity.

He framed startups as engines of social mobility, arguing that innovation ecosystems work best when individuals are free to pursue success and experimentation.