A major crypto venture fund, Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP, spearheaded by billionaire Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Asset Management, is successfully navigating the challenging venture capital climate. The fund is poised to secure up to $180 million by June, signaling strong investor confidence in early-stage crypto and blockchain innovators.
Sources indicate the fund has already blown past its initial $150 million target. Expectations are set for a final close between $175 million and $180 million by the end of June, although Galaxy has kept official figures private.
This investment vehicle targets nascent companies developing critical infrastructure and financial tools within the burgeoning crypto economy. Its focus areas include payment systems and stablecoins, reflecting key growth sectors in the digital asset space.
The fund’s current portfolio boasts promising names like synthetic dollar project Ethena, stablecoin DeFi platform M^Zero, and layer-1 blockchain Monad. It also includes Plume, focused on asset tokenization, and Renzo, which facilitates Ethereum restaking via EigenLayer.
Galaxy Ventures Fund I achieved its first close back in June 2024, securing $113 million. At that time, the firm stated its intention to back startups building crypto protocols, software, and financial applications, aiming to foster digital asset innovation.
Steve Kurz, Galaxy’s global head of asset management, previously emphasized the fund’s role in supporting visionary startups and gaining insights into technologies shaping the future of finance.
Led by general partners Will Nuelle and Mike Giampapa, the fund aims to cultivate a diverse portfolio of approximately 30 investments. The core strategy involves empowering both institutions and startups to actively participate in the onchain economy.
The fund’s impressive fundraising trajectory stands out against a backdrop of cooling crypto VC activity. Broader market headwinds have seen capital flow shift significantly towards other sectors like artificial intelligence.
Market analysis firms reported a 22% year-on-year drop in U.S. crypto venture deals in Q1 2025, falling to about $1.3 billion. During the same period, AI captured nearly 58% of global VC investment.
Further data highlighted increased market caution; despite Bitcoin reaching new highs in late 2024, median crypto VC deal sizes had contracted by almost 90% since 2018.
Industry analysts note that founders now require substantial traction, moving beyond the era where a simple white paper could secure funding. Nevertheless, optimism for a 2025 rebound persists, with projections exceeding $18 billion in venture capital potentially flowing into the crypto sector.