TLDR
- Coinbase Ventures completed 30 startup cryptocurrency deals in the first half of 2026, more than any other investor.
- Animoca Brands came in second place with 19 investments, followed by a16z with 18 investments, and Tether with 15 investments.
- Total cryptocurrency fundraising fell to $1.4 billion in June, down 63% from $3.8 billion in April.
- DeFi, payments, and artificial intelligence were the top three categories attracting venture capital
- The number of unique investors decreased to 242 in June, compared to 452 in October 2025.
Coinbase Ventures remained at the forefront of investing in cryptocurrency projects in the first half of 2026, closing 30 deals even as the broader market slowed sharply.
BREAKING: Coinbase Ventures leads the number of cryptocurrency deals in the first half of 2026.
Coinbase Ventures closed 30 deals in the first half of 2026, surpassing all other investors in cryptocurrency projects. Animoca Brands came in second place with 19 deals, followed by the a16z cryptocurrency with 18 deals, and Tether with 15 deals. pic.twitter.com/8fylfZcwpY
— MSB Intel (@MSBIntel) July 13, 2026
According to CryptoRank data, no other cryptocurrency-focused investor comes close. Animoca Brands took second place with 19 deals, investment firm a16z made 18 investments, and stablecoin issuer Tether completed 15 deals.
Over the past 12 months, Coinbase Ventures has further expanded its lead with a total of 75 deals. Animoca Brands came in second with 40, followed by YZi Labs with 39, GSR with 31, and a16z with 30.
Funding is declining sharply across the industry
The broader finance picture tells a different story. encryption The companies raised $1.4 billion just in June across 61 funding rounds. This represents a 63% decline from the $3.8 billion raised in April.
The number of transactions also decreased. There were 89 funding rounds in May, falling to 61 in June.
April was the weakest month in two years. The startup raised just $698 million across 71 rounds that month, the lowest monthly total since 2024.
So far in July, cryptocurrency companies have raised $456 million across 12 funding rounds, indicating a modest early recovery.
The number of unique investors has also shrunk. CryptoRank recorded 242 unique investors in June, compared to 452 in October 2025. This means fewer companies are actively writing checks, even as top-tier investors continue to move in.
Investment categories in DeFi, Payments and AI
Coinbase Ventures focused its first-half deals on payment protocols, putting money into seven funding rounds in the space. It also backed four DeFi projects and three rounds in both infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization.
Across the entire venture market over the past year, DeFi led all categories with 216 funding rounds. Payouts followed with 131 rounds, and AI-focused cryptocurrency projects attracted 128 rounds. Infrastructure companies completed 110 rounds.
Every other sector came in at less than 100 deals for the year.
On a regional basis, US-based investors have pumped in $5.8 billion in the past six months. Australian investors contributed $3.6 billion. Another $11.6 billion came from undisclosed places.
Despite the general slowdown, leading companies have not stopped supporting new startups. Coinbase Ventures, a16z, and Animoca Brands continued to write checks for payments, decentralized finance, AI, and infrastructure projects during the first half of the year.
Data shows that the market is tightening. Fewer investors are participating, less money is moving around, but the big players are still active.
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