September Web3 Financing Report: Capital Pursues Liquidity and Maturity

Original Author: Robert Osborne, Outlier Ventures

Original Translation: AididiaoJP, Foresight News

Web3 financing surged in September 2025 but did not reach its peak.

160 transactions raised $7.2 billion, the highest total since the spring surge. However, with the notable exception of the seed-stage Flying Tulip, late-stage capital investments dominated, as was the case in the previous two months.

Market Overview: Strong but Top-Heavy

Figure 1: Web3 capital deployment and transaction volume by stage from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised (disclosed): $7.2 billion
Disclosed transactions: 106
Total transactions: 160

At first glance, September appeared to be a high-profile return of risk appetite. However, aside from the exception of Flying Tulip, most capital investments were directed towards late-stage companies. This trend continues from our recent quarterly market report and aligns with the VC insights we gathered from the Token2049 Singapore conference. September 2025 again indicates that while early-stage transaction activity remains active, real capital is seeking maturity and liquidity.

Market Highlight: Flying Tulip ($200 million, seed round, $1 billion valuation)

Flying Tulip raised $200 million at a unicorn valuation in its seed stage. The platform aims to unify spot trading, perpetual contracts, lending, and structured yields into a single on-chain exchange, utilizing a hybrid AMM/order book model that supports cross-chain deposits and volatility-adjusted lending.

Web3 Venture Funds: Smaller in Scale

Figure 2: Number of Web3 venture funds launched and capital raised from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

New funds in September 2025:

Onigiri Capital, $50 million: Focused on early infrastructure and fintech in Asia.
Archetype Fund III, $100 million: Focused on modular, developer tools, and consumer protocols.

The establishment of funds cooled in September 2025. Only two new funds were launched, both relatively small and highly focused in theme. This trend points to selectivity rather than a slowdown: VCs are still fundraising but are doing so around sharper, more focused themes.

Pre-Seed Rounds: A Continued Downward Trend for 9 Months

Figure 3: Capital deployment and transaction volume in the pre-seed stage from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised: $9.8 million
Disclosed transactions: 5
Median financing round: $1.9 million

Pre-seed financing continues to decline, both in transaction volume and capital raised. This stage remains weak, with few notable investors participating. For founders at this stage, funding is scarce, but those who successfully raise funds do so with a compact narrative and technological conviction.

Pre-Seed Highlight: Melee Markets ($3.5 million)

Melee Markets, built on Solana, allows users to speculate on influencers, events, and trending topics, combining prediction markets and social trading. Supported by Variant and DBA, it is a clever attempt to capture attention flow as an asset class.

Seed Round: Tulip Mania

Figure 4: Capital deployment and transaction volume in the seed stage from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised: $359 million
Disclosed transactions: 26

Seed stage financing saw significant growth, entirely due to Flying Tulip's $200 million round. Without it, the financing situation in this category would be roughly comparable to the previous months.

More importantly, Flying Tulip's structure is not typical financing. Its on-chain redemption rights provide investors with capital security and yield exposure without sacrificing upside potential. The project is not consuming its financing; rather, it is using DeFi yields to fund its growth, incentives, and buybacks. This is a capital-efficient DeFi-native innovation that may influence how future protocols self-fund.

Although Flying Tulip's investors do have the right to withdraw these funds at any time, it still represents a significant capital investment from Web3 venture capitalists, which otherwise would have been invested in other early projects through less liquid instruments: namely SAFE and/or SAFT. This is another manifestation of the current trend among Web3 investors seeking more liquid asset exposure.

Series A: Stabilizing

Figure 5: Capital deployment and transaction volume in the Series A stage from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised: $177 million
Disclosed transactions: 10
Median financing round: $17.7 million

After a sharp decline in August, Series A activity saw a slight recovery in September, but it was not a breakthrough month. Transaction volume and deployed capital were just around the average levels for 2025. Investors remain selective, supporting late-stage momentum rather than chasing early-stage growth.

Series A Highlight: Digital Entertainment Asset ($38 million)

Singapore-based Digital Entertainment Asset raised $38 million to build Web3 games, ESG, and advertising platforms with real-world payment capabilities. Supported by SBI Holdings and ASICS Ventures, it reflects Asia's ongoing interest in integrating blockchain with mainstream consumer industries.

Private Token Sales: Huge Funds, Celebrity Participation

Figure 6: Capital deployment and transaction volume in private token sales from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised: $180 million
Disclosed transactions: 2

Private token activity remains concentrated, with one large financing completing all the work. The recent pattern continues: fewer token rounds, larger checks, and exchange-driven plays absorbing liquidity.

Highlight: Crypto.com ($178 million)

Crypto.com raised a massive $178 million, reportedly in collaboration with Trump Media. The exchange continues to drive the development of its global accessibility and mass-market crypto payment tools.

Public Token Sales: Bitcoin's Yield Moment

Figure 7: Capital deployment and transaction volume in public token sales from January 2020 to September 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.

Total capital raised: $126.2 million
Disclosed transactions: 16

Public token sales remain active, driven by two compelling narratives: Bitcoin yields (BTCFi) and AI agents. This serves as a reminder that the public market is still chasing narratives.

Highlight: Lombard ($94.7 million)

Lombard is bringing Bitcoin into DeFi, launching LBTC, a yield-bearing, cross-chain, liquid BTC asset designed to unify Bitcoin liquidity across ecosystems. This is part of the growing "BTCFi" trend, earning DeFi yields through BTC.

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