Crypto Startups Raised $73M Last Week: Gnosis, Perpl, XP Among Top Deals

According to Crypto Fundraising, the week of May 11–17, 2025 saw $73.2 million in venture capital flow into crypto and Web3 startups. The largest transaction was a $14.95 million strategic acquisition of Singaporean platform HQ.xyz by the German infrastructure network Gnosis.

Remaining investments were allocated across verticals including DeFi, blockchain gaming, Ethereum-based AI infrastructure, and on-chain billing solutions.

Funding Breakdown: Gnosis + HQ.xyz Lead the Week

This week’s biggest move? Gnosis snapped up Singapore-based HQ.xyz—a platform for managing corporate on-chain accounts—for $14.95 million. $8.95M comes from GnosisDAO’s treasury (greenlit by the community back in January), while $6M goes straight into the project as operating capital.

Gnosis says the move is all about speeding up HQ’s growth and building better infrastructure for Web3 teams that need serious enterprise-grade digital asset tools.

And it wasn’t just Gnosis making moves—the week brought a wave of solid crypto startup deals across DeFi, gaming, infra, and more.

• Perpl brought in $8.25 million from Dragonfly, Erzonia, and Brevan Howard. Although the round wasn’t formally labeled, it’s already placed the project on the radar of major venture firms.

• KYD Labs, working on digital identity and event infrastructure, closed a $7.1 million seed round with backing from CSX, Finality Capital Partners, and Ambush.
• Turtle Club, known for blending social experimentation with decentralized governance, secured $6.2 million in seed capital from Delphi Digital, SIG, and Consensys.
• XP (Captain Labs), developing an on-chain ticketing platform, also raised $6.2 million. The round was led by BlockChange, Neon, and Reflexive. 

Smaller rounds this week included:

• Nirvana Labs: $6M (Seed),
• TrendX: $5.2M,
• XSY (Unity): $5M (Series A),
• DoubleUp: $4M @ $40M FDV,
• Vinanz: $4M,
• Giza: $2.2M (AI x ETH x infra, 15+ new backers),
• N1 (ex Layer N): $2M (public sale),
• Puffverse: $700K (public sale, $70M FDV).

Check this out: Crypto VC Investment Doubled to $6B in Q1 per Pitchbook Outlook

In total, crypto and Web3 startups brought in $73.2M. The continued involvement of names like Dragonfly and Brevan Howard shows that investors are still leaning into AI meets infra meets gaming.

Market Trends: Institutions Lean In, Early-Stage Deals Dominate

The week’s activity clearly reflected a strong tilt toward early-stage rounds, with most deals falling into Seed and Pre-Seed territory. It’s a sign that investors remain willing to back long-term, fundamental plays—especially in infrastructure, identity systems, on-chain commerce, and emerging social primitives.

One trend is crystal clear: TradFi-linked funds like Brevan Howard and SIG are getting more active. That’s a strong signal—crypto VC is moving further into institutional territory. What matters now? Experienced teams, compliance readiness, and real-world ties.

With the SEC turning up the heat again and U.S. crypto ETFs drawing headlines, analysts expect the second half of 2025 to bring a surge in deal volume, especially around RWA, DeFi, and AI infra.