Investors continue to back DePIN, Web3 gaming, layer-1 RWAs
The first quarter of 2025 has been highly volatile for crypto. Investor sentiment has swung from one extreme to the other as Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to all-time highs, endured a major correction, and received a major presidential boost from Donald Trump.
Amid all the noise, venture capital firms continued to broaden their exposure to blockchain and crypto startups across decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs), Web3 gaming, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and derivatives exchange markets.
The latest edition of VC Roundup features seven funding announcements from across the industry.
Alchemy announces $5M Web3 adoption fund
Blockchain developer Alchemy has launched a $5 million “Everyone Onchain Fund” to promote Web3 adoption on Ethereum. The funding will provide developers building on Alchemy with up to $10,000 in gas credits and $20,000 in computing credits. Support will initially be rolled out to OP Stack and Arbitrum Orbit.
Alchemy currently offers rollups-as-a-service, which allows developers to launch and grow their own blockchain.
One of Alchemy’s most prominent partners is World, the biometric digital identity project formerly known as Worldcoin. Since its launch, World has reached more than 23 million users around the world.
Related: Superchain will reach 80% of Ethereum L2 transactions in 2025 — Optimism exec
Mavryk secures funding for layer-1 RWA
Mavryk Dynamics, the developer of a layer-1 RWA network, closed a $5 million funding round led by venture capital firms Ghaf Capital, Big Brain, MetaVest Capital, Cluster Capital, Collective Ventures and Atlas Funds. Five other VC funds participated in the round.
Mavryk is developing an RWA tokenization platform that it says will bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) by offering non-custodial features that include a protocol treasury, grants and liquidity mining. The company says its Mavryk Network has already secured more than $360 million in RWAs.
The RWA market has grown significantly over the past year, reaching $17.9 billion as of early March, according to RWA.xyz.
The value of real-world assets onchain has grown significantly. Source: RWA.xyz
Rho Labs receives $4M in seed funding
Rho Labs, the developer of the decentralized rates exchange Rho Protocol, closed a $4 million seed round led by CoinFund. Additional investors included Auros, Flow Traders and Speedinvest. Rho operates a decentralized derivatives market that lets users stake, lend and trade perpetual futures in one venue. The company says it has processed more than $7 billion worth of notional volumes.
CoinFund co-founder Alex Felix said Rho Labs is filling a gap in the crypto market that is preventing the normalization of funding and forward rates between CeFi and DeFi.
Teneo raises $3M to democratize social media data
Teneo Protocol, a DePIN project, closed a $3 million seed round led by venture funds RockawayX and Borderless, with additional participation from Generative Ventures. The funding will be used to further Teneo’s mission of democratizing access to social media data.
Teneo is built on the layer-1 network Peaq and operates a Web3 browser extension that lets users contribute to its data network in exchange for Teneo Points, which can be exchanged for the forthcoming Teneo Tokens. The company claims to have more than 3.5 million users across 191 countries.
DePIN growth reached its peak in December 2024. Source: DePINscan
Related: Crypto VCs are ‘especially bullish’ on DePIN, RWAs — HashKey Capital
Polychain Capital backs Fluent Labs’ $8M round
Ethereum layer-2 developer Fluent Labs raised $8 million in a funding round led by Polychain Capital, with additional participation from six venture funds and seven angel investors. Fluent describes itself as a “blended execution network” because it seeks to remove siloes that constrain onchain virtual machines. It currently supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine, Solana Virtual Machine and WebAssembly applications.
There are currently more than 60 projects building on the Fluent ecosystem, with use cases extending to DeFi, consumer applications and gaming.
The Game Company receives backing for blockchain gaming infrastructure
The Game Company, a UAE-based blockchain startup, has received $10 million in funding to develop its cloud gaming infrastructure that will let users play any title across PCs and consoles. Investors in the funding round include Telcoin, BullPerks and Singularity DAO.
The Game Company claims to have more than 500,000 users on its waitlist. Its latest UAE testing phase has seen more than 43,000 registrations, 41,000 onchain transactions and more than 10,000 new unique wallets.
Once the platform becomes operational, users will have access to more than 1,300 titles across PlayStation, Microsoft Store and Steam. Some of the titles it has access to include Call of Duty, Fortnite and Rocket League.
a16z backs ACID Labs
Web3 gaming studio ACID Labs closed an $8 million funding round led by a16z Speedrun to advance its social gaming infrastructure. Additional investors included NFX, Fusion VC and various gaming executives. ACID is the company behind Boinkers, a Telegram game with 11.5 million monthly players. It intends to use the funds to continue scaling its Web3 social games on Telegram.
The investment came against a backdrop of surging Web3 gaming activity. Between January 2024 and January 2025, the number of daily active Web3 gamers reached 7.3 million, according to DappRadar. Overall, blockchain gaming activity surged 386% over that period.
Investors have shown a notable interest in decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), Web3 gaming, and real-world assets (RWA) through recent funding rounds, highlighting the growing appeal of these sectors within the blockchain ecosystem.
One prominent funding event occurred with Circuit, a DePIN project focused on enhancing drone connectivity, securing $8 million in a seed funding round. The investment was led by notable venture capital firms including Venture Reality Fund and Builders VC. Circuit’s innovative approach aims to leverage decentralized networks to improve drone technology, providing wider connectivity options and driving the adoption of drones in various applications, from delivery services to film production.
In tandem with this, the Web3 gaming space has also attracted significant investment. The startup Shrapnel, known for its engaging decentralized gaming platform, raised $20 million in its latest funding round. The funding was spearheaded by a consortium of angel investors and venture capital firms, emphasizing the increasing potential of blockchain technology in gaming. Shrapnel seeks to create a more immersive gaming experience by integrating blockchain elements that allow players to truly own in-game assets, shifting the paradigm of virtual ownership.
Additionally, real-world asset tokenization continues to gain traction, with a noteworthy investment in RealT, a platform specializing in real estate tokenization. RealT closed a $1.8 million funding round aimed at enhancing their services in the blockchain real estate market. The funding, which involved a series of angel investors, highlights the growing trend of digitizing physical assets to make real estate investments more accessible and liquid for the average investor.
In other news, Elysium, a blockchain-focused on developing sustainability solutions, secured $5 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by a mix of crypto-focused funds and traditional venture capitalists. Elysium’s mission is to leverage blockchain technology to facilitate sustainability initiatives, helping businesses mitigate their environmental impact while providing transparency in their operations.
Monitoring the increase in venture capital investment in the blockchain ecosystem illustrates a diversifying landscape. As the sectors of DePIN, Web3 gaming, and real-world asset tokenization continue to flourish, investors are keenly aware of the transformative potential embedded in these areas. The recent funding rounds indicate a robust appetite for innovation that harnesses blockchain technology to disrupt existing industries and create new opportunities.
