DeFi protocols dominated August funding with multiple major raises, including Portal’s $50 million round, M0’s $40 million Series B, and aPriori’s $20 million strategic investment.
The sector attracted consistent institutional capital across infrastructure and trading platforms.
Additionally, the third quarter already surpassed the second quarter’s $4.54 billion totals with $4.57 billion captured in just two months.
AI protocols secured substantial funding, with Everlyn raising $15 million and multiple AI-focused projects completing seed rounds.
The convergence of crypto and AI continues attracting venture interest as protocols develop decentralized computing and data solutions. Cybersecurity emerged as another major category with IVIX completing a $60 million Series B, the month’s largest traditional venture round.
Stablecoin infrastructure also drew capital, with Rain securing $58 million in Series B funding.
Gaming protocols also received some attention, such as Overtake’s $7 million round and continued development funding across multiple projects.
The sector benefits from increased adoption of blockchain-based gaming mechanics and token economies.
Public token sales provide direct community participation while reducing dependence on institutional venture capital.
Layer-2 solutions secured strategic investments with Bitlayer raising $5 million through public token sales and Hemi Labs completing a $15 million growth round.
The third quarter’s performance demonstrates sustained institutional interest despite monthly fluctuations.
