Crypto Startups Raise $883M in February as VC 'Spray-and-Pray Era' Ends

Venture capitalists funnelled $883 million into crypto startups in February despite the market downturn, according to DefiLlama data. The figure represents a 13% decrease fromthis time last year, when startups secured over $1 billion amid a crypto bull run. These days, venture firms are still doling out cheques but erring on the side of caution. “Last year, you could raise on a narrative and a deck,” Andrei Grachev, managing partner at crypto VC firm DWF Labs, told DL News. “This year, investors want revenue, users, and a reason to believe the product survives a bear cycle,” he said. “The spray-and-pray era is over.” Grachev said that bear markets “always present opportunities” and that some of DWF Labs’ best-performing investments were made during downturns. He points to three key themes driving venture investment in 2026. Those include stablecoins and payments infrastructure, artificial intelligence agents, and institutional tools such as compliance and treasury management. “It’s not sexy but it’s where the next $500 billion of institutional capital needs to flow through before it touches any token.” Here are the biggest raises in February. Flying Tulip, $206 million Founded by veteran decentralised finance architect Andre Cronje, Flying Tulip secured $206 million via a token sale this month to build what it describes as an all-in-one financial stack. The platform combines spot trading, lending and perpetual derivatives with its native stablecoin, ftUSD, positioning itself as a vertically integrated liquidity hub. A core innovation is the ftPUT structure, which grants token holders a permanent redemption right to anchor the FT token’s floor value. Capital is allocated into relatively conservative yield venues such as Aave and Lido, aiming to generate sustainable native returns. The raise signals strong investor appetite for DeFi models that blend structured downside protection with exchange-grade financial tooling. Whop, $200 million Whop, a social commerce marketplace for digital goods, attracted a $200 million strategic investment from stablecoin giants Tether, valuing the company at $1.6 billion. The platform connects thousands of creators with more than 18 million users, facilitating the sale of software, online courses, and subscription-based communities. The deal centres on integrating Tether’s Wallet Development Kit to enable self-custodial settlement in USDT and the newly launched USAT stablecoin. By reducing reliance on traditional banking rails, Whop aims to accelerate payments within the global creator economy, particularly in emerging markets. The capital will support expansion across Europe and Asia and fund AI-powered commerce tools, Whop said. Anchorage Digital, $100 million Anchorage Digital, the first federally regulated digital asset bank in the US, raised $100 million in strategic equity from Tether, lifting its valuation to $4.2 billion. The investment deepens a partnership under which Anchorage serves as the regulated issuer for Tether’s US-compliant stablecoin, USAT. Anchorage provides institutional-grade custody, staking, governance and settlement infrastructure, acting as a bridge between traditional capital markets and blockchain-native finance. You’re reading the latest instalment of The Weekly Raise, our column covering fundraising deals across the crypto and DeFi spaces, powered by DefiLlama.Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email him at lance@dlnews.com.