VCs warn that the AI boom is drawing funds away from cryptocurrency startups

According to Odaily, several venture capitalists have warned that the AI boom is diverting funds away from crypto startups. Charles Chong, Vice President of Strategy at BlockSpaceForce, stated that investors now have "real alternative options with faster revenue visibility," and that crypto teams need to work harder, with founders required to be more precise in areas such as defensiveness and profit models.

DefiLlama data shows that crypto startups raised $128 million in the first week of March, with total funding in 2026 so far approaching $2.5 billions. This week's investors include Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Ripple, Y Combinator, Wintermute, and Sequoia Capital, with investments mainly directed towards payments, trading, and DeFi infrastructure sectors.

The top three funding events this week: Latin American fintech company ARQ completed a $70 million Series B round led by Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund. The company has an annualized trading volume of over $10 billions and about 2 million users; Crossover Markets completed a $31 million Series B round led by Tradeweb Markets, with Ripple and Wintermute participating, and a valuation of about $200 million. The company operates the institutional digital asset trading network CROSSx; Hybrid derivatives exchange QFEX completed a $9.5 million seed round led by Yuri Sagalov of General Catalyst, with participation from Y Combinator and Paul Graham.