Weekly Crypto Funding Roundup: 11 Deals, Paxos Buys Fordefi for $100M+; Bitfury Backs Gonka AI
Last week (Nov 24–30) saw 11 public blockchain financing events totaling over $572 million, spanning DeFi, Web3+AI, infrastructure, CeFi and venture funds. Key highlights: Paxos agreed to acquire New York DeFi wallet startup Fordefi for more than $100 million; Fordefi (founded 2021) has ~40 staff, ~300 clients and a prior valuation of $83M. Bitfury made a $12 million strategic investment in decentralized AI compute network Gonka AI, subscribing for 20 million GNK tokens at $0.60 each. Notable raises include SpaceComputer’s $10M seed to build satellite-based secure blockchain compute (led by Maven11, Lattice), Nexton Solutions’ $4M strategic round led by Danal for AI-driven re-staking and arbitrage tooling, Pruv Finance’s $3M Pre-A (led by UOB VM) for compliant on-chain RWA distribution, and CreatorFi’s $2M strategic investment tied to Aptos partnerships. Bridgepoint acquired majority of crypto audit/compliance firm ht.digital for ~£200M. Exodus Movement will acquire W3C Corp (parent of Baanx and Monavate) for $175M to expand crypto card and payments capabilities. Two listed companies announced crypto treasury fundraising: Enlivex plans a $212M PIPE to buy RAIN tokens for a prediction-market DAT; Upexi targets up to $23M via a directed offering to bolster its SOL treasury. VC activity: Entrée Capital closed a $300M early-stage fund; Índico launched a €125M fund; DWF Labs launched a $75M DeFi fund. Other smaller rounds include WorkQuest ($1.16M) and Monad launchpad Nad.fun ($1.1M). Overall, the week signals concentrated M&A and strategic investments in custody, payments, decentralized AI compute and on-chain RWA infrastructure — themes relevant for traders tracking asset flows, custody/payment integrations and institutional adoption.
Neutral
The week’s activity combines large strategic M&A (Paxos-Fordefi, Bridgepoint-ht.digital, Exodus-W3C) and targeted strategic investments (Bitfury→Gonka, SpaceComputer seed). Such deals generally reflect industry consolidation, infrastructure build-out and institutionalization — positive for long-term adoption and certain protocols (wallets, payments, AI compute, RWA). However, these are mostly corporate and infrastructure moves rather than new protocol token launches or broad liquidity events, so immediate price catalysts are limited. Short-term: neutral to mildly positive for assets tied to the involved ecosystems (SOL for Upexi, GNK for Gonka, Aptos-linked projects for CreatorFi), but any direct price reaction may be muted and localized to project tokens. Long-term: constructive — increased institutional M&A and funding into custody, payments, decentralized AI compute and RWA could improve on-ramps and demand for underlying assets over time. Historical parallels: custody/payment acquisitions (e.g., Crypto.com, BitGo deals) tend to support institutional flows but do not create instant market-wide rallies. Traders should watch on-chain flows, token unlocks, treasury purchases (Enlivex U.S. PIPE buying RAIN; Upexi buying SOL) and any announcements on product integrations or mainnet launches as potential short-term catalysts.