After the SEC and CFTC's regulatory framework for crypto assets officially took effect, Web3 financing activities remained stable in mid-March 2026. Institutional capital continues to focus on projects with practical application scenarios and compliance foundations. Despite market sentiment remaining at a low level, there was a significant increase in financing scale this week.
According to Messari Crypto Venture Weekly, 18 projects completed financing between March 16 and 20, with a total amount reaching $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, corporate digital asset treasury actions were also quite active, with companies like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet configuring over $1.83 billion this week.
This article summarizes the main investment and financing events of the week and categorizes them by core tracks, listing the financing details, leading investors, and business positioning of each project.
Stablecoin and cross-border payment infrastructure
Stablecoin payment-related projects attracted the most capital attention, with the largest transaction coming from a traditional payment giant.
Mastercard announced the acquisition of BVNK on March 17, and additionally, TransFi completed $14.2 million in Series A financing. dtcpay completed $10 million in Series A financing.
Both companies focus on regulated cross-border payments and fiat to stablecoin conversion services.
Prediction Market Track
The prediction market received significant financial support this week.
Kalshi
Management leads the investment. Kalshi is a prediction market platform regulated by the CFTC, supporting contract trading on real-world events such as politics, sports, and economics, with an annual revenue of approximately $1.5 billion.
Polymarket has completed an acquisition of Brahma, further enhancing its on-chain product experience.
Decentralized social and open protocols
Decentralized social platforms also received institutional funding.
Bluesky: Capital Crypto leads the investment, with participants including Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Knight Foundation. Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol, with user data autonomy, currently having over 43 million users. This round of funding is primarily used for the expansion of the protocol ecosystem.
RWA and asset tokenization
RWA infrastructure projects continue to receive support.
Ironlight completed $21 million in Series A financing. Investors include Sei Development Foundation, former TD Bank CEO Greg Braca, and Laidlaw. Ironlight focuses on an institutional-grade asset tokenization platform, helping traditional securities connect with DeFi systems.
The fusion of AI and Crypto
AI-related cryptocurrency projects also recorded financing this week.
Derivio completed $6 million in financing, led by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs), CMT Digital, and Signum Capital. Derivio develops AI-driven cryptocurrency trading terminals, providing market analysis and execution functions.
Corporate digital asset allocation and industry integration
Apart from VC rounds, the trend of companies directly holding Bitcoin continues. MicroStrategy purchased 22,337 BTC this week, with total holdings exceeding 760,000. Metaplanet completed a $255 million expansion of its Bitcoin reserves through additional issuance. GSR also completed acquisitions of Architech and Autonomous.
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This week's investment and financing situation shows that capital is concentrating on stablecoin payments, prediction markets, RWA, and AI infrastructure, which have clear application scenarios. After regulatory frameworks provide more certainty, institutional investors show continued interest in compliant and practical projects. This trend may continue in the near future.
The above content is compiled based on Messari's weekly report, Mastercard's official announcements, and sources such as CoinDesk, Bloomberg, and Reuters. Data is as of March 23, 2026, for reference only.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational reference only and does not constitute any investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile, and investing involves risks. Please conduct your own research and assume responsibility for the consequences independently.