Weekly Summary: Focus on Crypto Fundraising as Theta Capital Closes $175M New Fund

In this edition, Web3 funding takes centre stage as Theta Capital closes $175 million Blockchain Ventures Fund IV and World Network raises $135M in a token sale.

May 23, 2025

💵Web3 Funding Continues Amid Bullish Crypto Market

The Bitcoin price may have pulled back slightly on Friday after Trump’s latest trade tariffs comments, but the market remains relatively bullish.

The pioneer cryptocurrency pulled back to trade at about $109k, after setting new all-time highs closer to $112k.

Subsequently, investors remain upbeat about where the current rally could take the market, with some predicting a Bitcoin price in the region of $250k to half a million dollars by the end of the year.

Such has been the bullish sentiment in the market that VCs have continued to pour money into the sector. The market has now surpassed $13 billion in money flow including Web3 funding and M&As.

In May, the industry has already registered $3.32 billion in fundraisings, according to the AI-powered crypto data tracking platform SoSoValue.

This momentum builds on the success of the first quarter which saw the industry record nearly $7 billion in money flow (including fundraising and M&As).

This week, Theta Capital Management, which has more than $1 billion in assets under management closed a $175 million new fund to be funneled through crypto-focused VCs with a track record in backing early-stage crypto startups.

On the other hand, decentralised ID protocol, World Network, the organisation behind Wordcoin (WLD) secures $135 million from a token sale to A16z and Bain Capital Crypto.

Theta Capital Closes $175M Blockchain Ventures Fund IV to Invest in Early-Stage Crypto Startups

The fund will be funnelled through specialised crypto-native VCs with a track record of backing blockchain projects.
The fund focuses on specialist managers who can outperform generalist investors in the earliest funding rounds.
Tether has previously invested in crypto-native VC firms including Polychain Capital and CoinFund.
Founded in 2001 and boasting about $1.2 billion in assets under management, the company switched focus to digital assets in 2018.

Theta’s managing partner and chief investment officer Ruud Smets told Bloomberg: “We’ve always been looking for areas where specialization and active management provide a sustainable edge,” adding that the experience and positioning of dedicated crypto VCs “has compounded over time,” thus making it more difficult for less focused investors trying to enter the space.

Decentralised ID Protocol World Raises $135M to Support U.S. Expansion

The company sold $135 million in WLD tokens to Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
World claims that more than 26 million people participate in the World Network and more than 12.5 million people have an Orb-verified World ID.
The company plans to use the capital to meet the increasing demand for Orb-verified World IDs and support its expansion in the U.S. and beyond.
World Network believes its technology will become even more necessary to help distinguish humans from machines in the age of AGI.

“This funding opportunity is in service to the long-term mission of World and is backed by the builders who believed in World from the beginning. It is anticipated that World Network will become one of the first self-sustaining protocols,” the company said in a blog post on its website.

Roxom Global Secures $17.9M Funding Round to Build BTC Treasury and Media Network

The Bitcoin project is building RoxomTV, a media network backed by 100% Bitcoin treasury.
The funds were raised across two rounds with Draper Associates, Borderless Capital, Ego Death and Kingsway Capital backing Roxom’s crypto exchange project with $7.9 million.
The exchange will offer futures, spot markets and synthetic instruments priced and settled in BTC.
The company also raised an additional $10 million in private funding for RoxomTV.
RoxomTV currently holds 84.72 BTC after buying 52.65 Bitcoins using proceeds from the current funding round at an average price of $76,300 per Bitcoin. It plans to purchase an additional 30 BTC.

Mobile-First DeFi Trading App True Markets Launches on Solana with $11M Series A Round

Accomplice and PRE Ventures co-led the round with participation from Reciprocal Ventures, Variant Fund and PayPal Ventures.
The company offers a DeFi trading platform focused on stablecoin-native execution.
The Series A round brings the total raised to $20 million according to a press release on Tuesday.
True Markets’ main aim is to build a non-custodial mobile-first platform that delivers a fast, simple and transparent trading experience to retail users.

Vishal Gupta, Co-Founder and CEO of True Markets: “Retail traders have been stuck with clunky workflows, unclear pricing, and fragmented liquidity. Our goal is to deliver a fairer and more transparent experience that makes asset discovery simple, shows real-time market momentum, and feels as intuitive as the best apps on your phone.”

VOYA Games Secures $5M Funding Round to Launch Debut Crypto Game

1kx and Makers Fund co-led the round, with participation from RockawayX and angels Jeff ‘Jihoz’ Zirlin, Co-Founder of Sky Mavis and Sébastien Borget, Co-Founder & COO of The Sandbox.
The community-driven gaming studio plans to use the capital to accelerate the development of Craft World its first crypto game.
VOYA Games said Craft World boasts amassed over 240,000 registered players during its testnet phase.

“Our goal is to build a token ecosystem where games are connected through a shared player economy and culture,” said Oliver Löffler, CEO and founder of VOYA Games. “With this funding, we’ll scale our experiences, expand our user base, and grow our ecosystem, laying the groundwork for a network of interconnected games built on participation and long-term trust.”

SEC Charges Unicoin and Its Executives for Defrauding Investors More than $100M

The New York-based crypto company is being charged for allegedly offering fraudulent rights certificates of its native token and shares.
Unicoin allegedly claimed it had sold more than $3 billion in rights certificates when it raised no more than $110 million.
Three of the company’s top executives including CEO and Board Chairman Alex Konanykhin were also charged.
Union and its executives allegedly used false and misleading statements to convince more than 5,000 investors to purchase the rights certificates.

“We allege that Unicoin and its executives exploited thousands of investors with fictitious promises that its tokens, when issued, would be backed by real-world assets including an international portfolio of valuable real estate holdings,” said Mark Cave, Associate Director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

Alchemy Acquires NFT Launchpad HeyMint to Advance Smart Wallet Adoption

HeyMint offers a suite of no-code tools that enable mainstream brands to launch their Web3 initiatives.
The platform has supported some of the leading brands including MasterCard, Ubisoft, and Universal Music Group.
The platform claims to have over 1 million users and helped 40,000+ creators generate $38 million in NFT sales.
Alchemy is acquiring HeyMint to help scale frictionless onboarding through Smart Wallets development.

Joe Lau, co-founder and President of Alchemy said in a statement: “HeyMint’s focus on creating the most accessible and user-friendly experience aligns perfectly with Alchemy’s vision of onboarding the next generation of users and technology companies to web3, and we are excited to welcome their team into ours.”