Web3 funding hit $4.8 billion in Q1 2025.
But here's the thing. 85% of deals are early stage now. Mega rounds disappeared. VCs want products that ship, not whitepapers.
The decentralized web keeps building. DAOs, social tokens, decentralized identity, creator economies. Real use cases finding real money.
This guide covers 35 Web3-focused investors. Not crypto generalists. Not DeFi specialists. Pure Web3 plays.
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The Web3 funding landscape
Three things define Web3 investing today:
Community matters more than code. VCs check Discord activity before GitHub commits. Active users beat vanity metrics.
Token design is everything. If your token is just points with extra steps, pass. Real utility or nothing.
Decentralization theater is dead. Actually decentralized or honestly centralized. Pick one.
Early stage dominates. Series A barely exists. Growth rounds? Forget it.
Smart money brings distribution. Dumb money brings... well, money. Know the difference.
35 Web3 investors
1. Paradigm
$2.5B fund by Coinbase and Sequoia alumni, pure Web3 focus.
Investment focus: Protocol design, crypto experiments
Investment range: $1M seed to $100M+ growth
Notable investments: Uniswap, Opensea, Blur
Contact: paradigm.xyz
2. Electric Capital
Developer-first fund tracking GitHub commits since 2018.
Investment focus: Web3 infrastructure, developer tools
Investment range: Seed to Series B, $500K-$20M
Notable investments: 120+ Web3 companies
Contact: electriccapital.com
3. Union Square Ventures
Fred Wilson's fund, early believer in fat protocols.
Investment focus: Decentralized networks, Web3 infrastructure
Investment range: Seed to Series A, $1M-$10M
Notable investments: Ethereum, Protocol Labs
Contact: usv.com
4. Variant Fund
Jesse Walden's fund focused on ownership economy.
Investment focus: Creator tools, social tokens, DAOs
Investment range: $500K-$5M seed/Series A
Notable investments: Mirror, Friends With Benefits
Contact: variant.fund
5. 1kx
Berlin-based fund run by crypto OGs.
Investment focus: Tokenized networks, Web3 protocols
Investment range: $100K-$5M
Notable investments: Early DeFi and Web3 pioneers
Contact: 1kx.network
6. Fabric Ventures
European Web3 specialist with $150M fund.
Investment focus: Open data networks, Web3 infrastructure
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Decentralized data protocols
Contact: fabric.vc
7. Placeholder VC
Joel Monegro's thesis-driven Web3 fund.
Investment focus: Decentralized information networks
Investment range: $500K-$5M
Notable investments: Decentraland, Arweave
Contact: placeholder.vc
8. Seed Club Ventures
Community-first fund for social DAOs.
Investment focus: Social tokens, creator DAOs
Investment range: $100K-$1M
Notable investments: Community-driven projects
Contact: seedclub.ventures
9. Greenfield One
Berlin crypto fund betting on Web3 infrastructure.
Investment focus: Core Web3 protocols
Investment range: €100K-€5M
Notable investments: The Graph, Web3 infrastructure
Contact: greenfield.one
10. Blue Yard Capital
Decentralization maximalists since 2016.
Investment focus: Protocols challenging centralization
Investment range: $500K-$5M
Notable investments: Decentralized identity, data ownership
Contact: blueyard.com
11. Daxos Capital
Seed-stage fund for Web3 infrastructure.
Investment focus: Web3 foundations, digital assets
Investment range: Seed stage focus
Notable investments: Next-gen platforms
Contact: daxos.capital
12. Blockwall
German fund pioneering Web3 in Europe.
Investment focus: Pre-seed/seed Web3
Investment range: €100K-€2M
Notable investments: Fetch.ai, Solana ecosystem
Contact: blockwall.vc
13. Maven 11
Amsterdam-based fund, early Web3 believers.
Investment focus: Web3 infrastructure, AI intersection
Investment range: €500K-€10M
Notable investments: Bitfury, Stardust
Contact: maven11.com
14. Chapter One
Product-focused Web3 fund.
Investment focus: Web3 products that work
Investment range: $250K-$2M
Notable investments: Consumer Web3 apps
Contact: chapterone.com
15. Orange DAO
Y Combinator alumni funding Web3.
Investment focus: YC-style Web3 startups
Investment range: $50K-$500K
Notable investments: RISE Chain, Nubila Network
Contact: orangedao.xyz
16. Web3 Capital
First decentralized VC, community-backed.
Investment focus: Web3 infrastructure
Investment range: Early stage
Notable investments: Community-selected projects
Contact: web3.capital
17. Stellation Capital
Multi-sector fund with Web3 focus.
Investment focus: Web3, fintech, digital health
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Cross-sector Web3
Contact: stellation.capital
18. AU21 Capital
Silicon Valley approach to Web3.
Investment focus: NFTs, Web3 infrastructure
Investment range: $100K-$2M
Notable investments: 70+ Web3 projects
Contact: au21.capital
19. Ascend Venture Capital
Stage-agnostic Web3 investor.
Investment focus: Web3 across all verticals
Investment range: Flexible by stage
Notable investments: DeFi to infrastructure
Contact: ascendvc.com
20. G20 Ventures
Enterprise and consumer Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 for businesses and users
Investment range: Seed to Series B
Notable investments: Enterprise Web3 solutions
Contact: g20ventures.com
21. Ribbit Capital
Fintech giant entering Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 financial infrastructure
Investment range: Series A+, $5M-$50M
Notable investments: Web3 fintech crossovers
Contact: ribbitcap.com
22. Blockchain Capital
OG fund expanding into Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 protocols, infrastructure
Investment range: $1M-$50M
Notable investments: 170+ companies
Contact: blockchain.capital
23. Acrew Capital
Generalist embracing Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 consumer applications
Investment range: Series A focus
Notable investments: Web3 consumer plays
Contact: acrew.vc
24. AVV (Ascend Vietnam Ventures)
Southeast Asia Web3 leader.
Investment focus: Web3 in emerging markets
Investment range: Seed to Series A
Notable investments: Regional Web3 champions
Contact: avv.vc
25. Embryo Ventures
Early-stage Web3 and more.
Investment focus: Web3, health, sustainability
Investment range: Pre-seed to seed
Notable investments: Cross-sector innovations
Contact: embryoventures.com
26. Polygon Ventures
$100M ecosystem fund.
Investment focus: Polygon ecosystem Web3
Investment range: $50K-$5M
Notable investments: Polygon-native projects
Contact: polygon.ventures
27. Solana Ventures
Solana Foundation's Web3 fund.
Investment focus: Solana ecosystem
Investment range: $50K-$5M
Notable investments: Solana DeFi, gaming, social
Contact: solana.ventures
28. NFX
Network effects in Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 marketplaces, networks
Investment range: Seed focus, $1M-$4M
Notable investments: Network-driven Web3
Contact: nfx.com
29. M1 Capital
Digital asset exposure for Web3.
Investment focus: Web3 infrastructure, staking
Investment range: Strategic investments
Notable investments: Infrastructure plays
Contact: m1capital.io
30. DCAP
Web3 asset advisor turned investor.
Investment focus: Web3 assets and infrastructure
Investment range: Varies by opportunity
Notable investments: Asset-focused Web3
Contact: dcap.io
31. OV (Outlier Ventures)
250+ Web3 portfolio, accelerator model.
Investment focus: Open Metaverse, Web3 thesis
Investment range: $100K-$500K accelerator
Notable investments: 250+ Web3 projects
Contact: outlierventures.io
32. Avalanche Fund
$200M+ ecosystem growth.
Investment focus: Avalanche ecosystem Web3
Investment range: Varies by project
Notable investments: Avalanche DeFi, gaming
Contact: avalanche.fund
33. Animoca Brands
Gaming giant's Web3 arm.
Investment focus: Web3 gaming, metaverse, NFTs
Investment range: $500K-$20M
Notable investments: The Sandbox, virtual worlds
Contact: animocabrands.com
34. Gate Ventures
$100M fund with UAE backing.
Investment focus: Global Web3 infrastructure
Investment range: Seed to growth
Notable investments: Emerging market Web3
Contact: gate.ventures
35. Psalion DAO
DAO funding DAOs.
Investment focus: DAO infrastructure, governance
Investment range: $25K-$250K
Notable investments: DAO tooling
Contact: psalion.xyz
Getting funded in Web3
Forget everything you know about traditional fundraising.
Community first, product second. Show your Discord stats before your revenue projections. Active governance participants matter more than MAU.
Progressive decentralization works. Start centralized, decentralize over time. VCs get it now.
Token vs equity dance. Most want both. SAFE plus token warrant is standard. Know your cap table math.
DAO participation counts. Which DAOs do you contribute to? Governance proposals passed? Street cred matters.
The new playbook
Launch on testnet. Get users. Show retention.
Build in public. Twitter threads beat pitch decks.
Community allocation upfront. 40-60% to community is normal now.
Multi-sig everything. Solo founder with admin keys? Red flag.
Web3 funding alternatives
Grants everywhere
Ethereum Foundation: $30M+ yearly
Gitcoin: Quadratic funding rounds quarterly
Protocol grants: Every L1/L2 has a program
Retroactive funding: Ship first, get paid later
Community raises
Token launches: Still works if done right
NFT drops: Utility required
Crowdfunding: Mirror, Juicebox leading
Revenue sharing: New models emerging
DAO treasuries
Major DAOs sitting on millions. Proposal required.
MakerDAO, Compound, Uniswap all fund ecosystem projects.
What's working now
Social infrastructure. Farcaster raised $30M. Lens Protocol growing. Social graphs matter.
DAO tooling. Coordination tools getting funded. Governance infrastructure hot.
Identity solutions. ENS everywhere. Decentralized identity finally clicking.
Creator tools. Monetization without middlemen. Direct fan relationships.
What's not
Metaverse land grabs. Dead.
Governance tokens with no governance. Over.
"Uber but on blockchain." Stop.
Anonymous teams. VCs want doxxed founders now.
Ellty for Web3 founders
Web3 decks are different. Community metrics. Token economics. Governance structures.
Investors spend most time on:
- Token distribution charts
- Community growth metrics
- Technical architecture
Track what resonates. Iterate based on data.
Web3 founders using Ellty see:
- Which slides get shared in partner chats
- Geographic interest patterns
- Time spent on tokenomics
FAQs
Q: SAFE or token warrant?
Both. SAFE for equity, warrant for tokens. Standard now.
Q: How much to community?
40% minimum. 60% better. 80% if you're brave.
Q: Anonymous founding team?
Some VCs still invest. Most won't anymore.
Q: Which chain to build on?
Ethereum for credibility. L2s for cost. Solana for speed.
Q: When to launch token?
Product-market fit first. Token later. SEC watching.
