According to a report from ME News, cryptocurrency payment companies raised a total of 2.6 billion USD in 2025, surpassing the total financing of the past three years, becoming the fastest-growing segment in financing this year.
[Overall trend] 20.4 billion USD in cryptocurrency private placement financing in 2025
Total private placement financing in the cryptocurrency sector in 2025: 20.4 billion USD
An increase of about 57% compared to 2024 (nearly 13 billion USD)
But still below the peak in 2022 (27.6 billion USD)
Three major financing tracks:
Investment and trading infrastructure — ranked first
Brokers and exchanges (financial applications) — ranked second
Crypto payment infrastructure — ranked third, but with the fastest growth rate
[Payment Track] Capital is accelerating its influx
Core data:
2025 financing for payment companies: $2.6 billion
More than the total financing of the past three years (2022-2024)
This year is expected to grow further, driven by the recent Mastercard acquisition of BVNK.
This means that traditional financial giants are accelerating their layout in the crypto payment track. The acquisitions and investments by institutions like Mastercard and Visa in blockchain payment infrastructure are becoming important capital exit paths for the industry.
[Cold and Hot Fields] Game and dApp financing plummeted
Blockchain Games:
2022 financing: $3.76 billion (14% of total)
2025: No longer counted as an independent category
Web3 dApp：
2022 financing: $5.2 billion
2025: Financing for consumer application dApps is $864 million
Capital is shifting from 'storytelling' entertainment applications to 'grounded scenarios' financial infrastructure.
[Personal Opinion]
There are several signals behind this data worth paying attention to:
Payments are currently the clearest grounded scenario—compared to games and the metaverse, payments have a clearer business model and compliance path.
The entry channels for traditional institutions are opening up—Mastercard's acquisition of BVNK is not an isolated case; more traditional payment giants will enter the crypto field through acquisitions in 2025.
The capital logic has changed—from the 'burning money to grab users' of 2022 to the 'having revenue, compliance, and B-end customers' infrastructure projects of 2025.
Lessons for ordinary investors: Pay attention to leading projects in the payment track (such as BVNK, MoonPay, Alchemy Pay, etc.) and their upstream and downstream ecosystems. The flow of capital often indicates the hotspots of the next cycle.
