Crypto Funding Tops $48M as Stablecoin and DeFi Deals Lead
Crypto funding shifted from real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure and stablecoin settlement in October 12–18 to stablecoin payments, DeFi and AI infrastructure in October 19–25. The later week recorded more than $48 million across eight blockchain deals. Mural raised $15 million in a Tether-led Series A for cross-border payments; Dataline secured $10.6 million for a decentralized data network for AI agents; Orochi Network raised $8 million for verifiable data infrastructure supporting tokenized RWAs; and Nectar Group raised $5 million for its Bitcoin yield platform HoneyB. Other investments backed Solana-based Hylo and Bolivia fintech Peso, with Tether leading Peso’s pre-seed round.
The earlier week saw more than $54 million across six deals. Fission raised $10 million to improve the liquidity of tokenized fund shares, while Uniform Labs secured $8 million for Multiliquid, which settles tokenized assets against stablecoins on Ethereum and Solana. Tether also invested in EFY Finance to expand institutional use of USD₮ and USA₮, and Sui Foundation invested $30 million in DATA Network, which plans to migrate its protocol and token to Sui.
Crypto M&A added to the latest developments: RedotPay acquired Japan’s BTCBOX, while ether.fi bought Zeal Wallet to bring wallet, lending and yield features together. Large AI and robotics financings, including Tenstorrent’s $1.5 billion round, and reports of a possible 100 billion yuan DeepSeek fundraise point to competition for capital beyond crypto. Bitcoin mining sites are also being considered for AI data-centre use. Overall, the funding points to continued interest in stablecoin payments, tokenized assets and crypto infrastructure, but does not by itself signal an immediate market-wide price move.
Neutral
The funding and acquisition news indicates continued investment in stablecoin payments, tokenized assets, DeFi and crypto infrastructure, but no single deal establishes a clear near-term catalyst for the price of a specific cryptocurrency. In the short term, traders may watch for increased attention to the tokens tied to named ecosystems, such as SUI, SOL and ETH, but funding announcements often have limited or temporary price effects unless they are accompanied by material product adoption, token demand or liquidity changes. The stablecoin investments also concern payment infrastructure rather than a direct change in the market supply or value of the stablecoins themselves.
Over the longer term, investment in settlement, custody, data and tokenization infrastructure could support broader use of blockchain networks and improve ecosystem activity. However, the deals are spread across different projects, and the reported AI and robotics financings are not direct crypto investments. The earlier Sui investment and planned DATA Network migration could draw attention to SUI and DATA, while the Solana-linked projects may be relevant to SOL, but the summaries provide no evidence of immediate token purchases or guaranteed usage growth. With no clear directional price signal, the overall assessment is neutral.