Crypto VC Invests $136.8 Million in June, Focusing on DeFi, AI, and Infrastructure

Crypto venture capital has shown resilience in June, with significant investments flowing into decentralized finance (DeFi), artificial intelligence (AI), and hybrid trading infrastructure startups. Despite broader market slowdowns, these sectors have attracted substantial capital, indicating sustained investor interest in blockchain technology and its applications.

Rails, a hybrid exchange backed by Kraken and Slow Ventures, successfully raised $20 million across two funding rounds. This exchange combines the speed of centralized exchanges (CEX) with the security of decentralized custody, appealing to professional traders who seek high performance without sacrificing control over their assets. Slow Ventures described Rails as a "hybrid perpetual exchange" designed for speed, security, and non-custodial trading, highlighting its unique value proposition in the market.

Beam, a stablecoin payments service provider connected to Visa Direct and FedNow, secured $7 million in funding from Castle Ventures. The funds will be used to expand Beam's network across Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the European Union, targeting fintech companies and banks. This expansion aims to enhance global stablecoin payments, leveraging Beam's existing infrastructure and partnerships.

Frachtis, a new $20 million fund, was launched by Xavier Meegan, former executive of Chorus One. The fund focuses on early-stage ventures in decentralized AI, infrastructure, and DeFi. Frachtis has already closed eight deals and aims to support founders in identifying long-term blockchain use cases, contributing to the growth and innovation in these sectors.

Inference Labs raised $6.3 million to develop Proof of Inference, a cryptographic overlay that authenticates AI outputs using zero-knowledge proofs. The funding was led by DACM, Delphi Ventures, Arche Capital, and Lvna Capital. The testnet for this technology is already live, with mainnet deployment scheduled for the third quarter of 2025, showcasing the company's progress and commitment to AI verification.

Gradient Network secured $10 million from Multicoin Capital and Pantera Capital to build decentralized AI infrastructure on Solana. The company is developing tools like Lattica and Parallax to scale large AI models, attracting the attention of leading investors with its innovative Solana architecture.

OKX crypto exchange and blockchain startup Story announced a $10 million ecosystem fund to support IP-related Web3 innovation. This fund will provide initiatives with Story’s native token, IP, fostering creativity and development in the Web3 space. PIP Labs, the company behind the Ethereum-based sidechain Story, has raised a total of $140 million to date, including $80 million in its Series B round last August, demonstrating strong investor confidence.

Yupp raised $33 million in seed funding led by a16z Crypto. The platform allows users to experiment with outputs from leading AI models like ChatGPT and Claude, offering crypto rewards for contributions. Yupp's model aims to integrate human judgment as a valuable economic layer within the blockchain ecosystem, enhancing the utility and interaction of AI with blockchain technology.

Blueprint Finance, a multichain DeFi infrastructure development company, closed a $9.5 million round led by Polychain Capital. The funds will be used to develop new products in addition to its existing platforms, Concrete on Ethereum and Glow Finance on Solana. This raise comes as DeFi is experiencing a rebound, although the total value locked (TVL) still lags behind its 2022 peak, indicating a recovering but not yet fully restored market.

Units Network, built on the Waves protocol, raised $10 million from Nimbus Capital to expand its validator network and AI integration. The platform aims to enhance crosschain liquidity and address scalability bottlenecks in the Web3 ecosystem, leveraging Nimbus Capital's backing from In On Capital, which manages over $1.2 billion in assets.

June's VC activity highlights investor enthusiasm for specific crypto verticals, particularly infrastructure, DeFi, and AI. With top backers like a16z, Pantera, and Multicoin continuing to deploy capital, the next generation of blockchain innovations will be driven by ventures focused on real-world use cases and decentralized intelligence. This sustained investment underscores the resilience and potential of the crypto market, despite broader economic challenges.