Reading · Deal Flow Digest

Gm!

Please enjoy the March Deal Flow Digest, a monthly newsletter recapping recent Crypto / web3 funding rounds.

Be sure to check out the sheet below with ALL the deals, and the recent hackathon/demo day results (in the links).

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s latest annual chairman letter reads like a manifesto for the future of finance…and it’s undeniably bullish on crypto and tokenization.

“Every stock, every bond, every fund—every asset—can be tokenized. If they are, it will revolutionize investing. Markets wouldn't need to close. Transactions that currently take days would clear in seconds. And billions of dollars currently immobilized by settlement delays could be reinvested immediately back into the economy, generating more growth.”

Fink’s argument is clear: tokenization isn’t just another fintech buzzword, it’s a tectonic shift in how markets function. He sees three major reasons why tokenization will democratize investing:

Access: Fractional ownership of assets like private real estate or private equity will open up previously gated opportunities to everyday investors.
Voting Rights: Digital ownership records can streamline and secure shareholder voting, enabling real-time governance participation at a global scale.
Yield: By removing legal and operational bottlenecks, high-yield investments become accessible beyond institutional players.

Fink didn’t hold back on the state of the current global financial infrastructure either. He called out SWIFT, the backbone of international finance, as a relic of the fax machine era. In his analogy, SWIFT is the equivalent of mailing letters; tokenization turns that process into sending emails…instant, traceable, and cost-efficient.

The bottleneck? Digital identity. Today’s financial markets rely on centralized venues (like the NYSE or Apple Pay) for transaction-level verification. But tokenized assets require a decentralized, yet equally secure, form of identity management.

That sounds hard… until you look at India. Over 90% of Indians can now verify financial transactions via smartphone. If the world’s most populous country can figure it out, what’s stopping the rest of us?

Perhaps most eye-opening is Fink’s cautionary note. He warns that unless the U.S. reins in spending, crypto may not just be an asset class—but a perceived safe haven from fiat.

“That same innovation [crypto] could undermine America’s economic advantage if investors begin seeing Bitcoin as a safer bet than the dollar.”

That’s not a nothingburger. That’s the head of a $10 trillion asset manager saying Bitcoin might become the world’s reserve asset…by default.

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF hit record assets under management and trading volumes. And more importantly, over half of the demand came from retail investors—many of whom were brand new to iShares. That’s wild.

Fink isn’t trying to pump coins. He didn’t even name a blockchain (besides Bitcoin). What he’s saying is this: The future of finance is programmable, 24/7, and radically more open. The rails aren’t (completely) ready yet, but they’re coming. Fast.

If you’re building, investing, or even just watching this space…you’re early (tm).

Binance | CeFi | $2.00B | 2025-03-11
Binance and MGX, the Abu Dhabi-based AI and advanced technology investor, have announced a landmark $2 billion investment. The first institutional investment in Binance to date, marks a significant step in advancing digital asset adoption and reinforcing blockchain's role in global finance. It is also the single largest investment into a crypto company and the largest investment ever paid in crypto (stablecoin).

TON | Infrastructure | $400.00M | 2025-03-19
The Open Network Foundation, or TON Foundation, said a group of VCs including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark and Kingsway invested over $400 million buying the Toncoin cryptocurrency. TON is the blockchain used to power the growing number of mini apps that function within the Telegram's messaging app ecosystem.

Walrus | Infrastructure | $140.00M | 2025-03-19
On Thursday, Walrus Foundation, one of the core entities behind the data availability protocol, announced that it had raised $140 million in a sale of the blockchain's cryptocurrency, whose ticker is $WAL. The largest investor was Standard Crypto.

Flowdesk | Web3 | $102.00M | 2025-03-03
Flowdesk has raised $102 million in a funding round backed by HV Capital and BlackRock-managed funds to expand its digital asset trading and liquidity business. The company plans to use the funding to scale its over-the-counter derivatives business, launch a crypto credit desk, and double its workforce.

Metaplanet | CeFi | $84.00M | 2025-03-03
Metaplanet, a BTC treasury raised $84.00M in a Undisclosed financing round. By leveraging Bitcoin as its principal treasury reserve asset, Metaplanet will utilize excess cash flow and implement accretive corporate governance to further its Bitcoin accumulation.

Mesh (Front) | Series B | CeFi | $82.00M | 2025-03-10
Mesh, the crypto payments network enabling transactions with cheap and immediate conversions, today announced it closed a $82 million Series B funding round. The funds set the company up for continued growth in the transfers and payments sectors.

Across Protocol | $41.00M | 2025-03-03
Across Protocol has raised $41 million through the sale of its ACX tokens to investors. Across is an optimistic insured bridge that relies on a decentralized group of relayers to fulfill user deposit requests from EVM to EVM networks.

Tabit | DeFi | $40.00M | 2025-03-23
Barbados-based insurer Tabit has announced the successful raise of $40 million in Bitcoin to support its regulatory capital, making it the first property and casualty insurer to hold its entire regulatory reserve in BTC.

RedotPay | Series A | $40.00M | 2025-03-13
RedotPay just secured $40 Million in Series A funding. RedotPay is a blockchain technology company focusing on crypto wallet and payment solutions.

DoubleZero | Infrastructure | $28.00M | 2025-03-04
DoubleZero Foundation has closed its $28 million token round and announced the launch of its testnet. DoubleZero is a new global base layer network optimized for blockchain and distributed systems. The protocol enables permissionless contribution of independent fiber links to create a dynamic and expansive low-level high performance global network.

VCs are continuing to announce their new raises.

2025-03-12: BlockTower's venture unit spins out as Strobe Ventures, plans $100 million Fund II. Strobe Ventures will double down on early-stage crypto investments with a “high-conviction” strategy.
2025-03-19: Ribbit Capital is raising a new $500M Fund. In 2023, fintech-focused Ribbit Capital raised $800 million, reportedly for its tenth flagship fund, Ribbit Capital X.
2025-03-24: DWF Labs launches $250M Liquid Fund. The firm has already committed two major investment deals worth $25 million and $10 million as part of this fund, with more announcements coming up in the pipeline.
2025-03-27: Crypto VC Maven 11 raises $107 million for third fund. Maven first announced the third fund in November 2023.

As a reminder, if you are interested in learning more about Bankless Ventures Fund II, please fill out this form and we will be in touch!

Upcoming

ETHGlobal Taipei | April 4 - 6
Taipei/Virtual. $175k in prizes.

Start in Block | April 8 - 10 (Paris Blockchain Week)
Paris/Virtual. $10M in prizes.

EasyA Consensus | May 14 - 16
Toronto. $400k in prizes.

ETHGlobal Prague | May 30 - June 1
Prague. $150k in prizes.

Ongoing

[REDACTED] Hackathon | April 1 - 30
Virtual. $150k in prizes.

Upcoming

OnePiece Labs x Camp Network | 3rd April 2025
Virtual

Techstars Web3 Demo Day | 5th June 2025
New York

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