A New York-based venture capital firm focused on cryptocurrency, Archetype, has successfully closed over $100 million in capital commitments for its third fund, known as Archetype III. The fund attracted significant backing from a diverse array of institutional investors, including pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices.
Archetype aims to strategically maintain a $100 million fund size to ensure a focused investment approach. According to Ash Egan, the firm’s founder and general partner, this concentration allows them to be highly selective and confident in their chosen teams. The firm has recently brought on board only one new limited partner for this funding round, indicating a strategic choice to limit the fund’s size.
The capital raised will primarily target early-stage blockchain startups that are innovating in areas such as onchain infrastructure, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the tokenization of real-world assets. Specific areas of interest include projects focused on stablecoins, payment solutions, mobile applications built on blockchain technology, and even crypto-related artificial intelligence initiatives.
Archetype has a commendable track record, featuring successful exits such as Privy, a crypto wallet startup that was acquired by payments giant Stripe, and US Bitcoin Corp’s merger with mining company Hut 8, which is linked to Eric Trump’s American Bitcoin project. The firm manages around $350 million in assets across its investments, which include notable names like Monad, Farcaster, Relay, and Ritual, all of which represent various sectors within the blockchain ecosystem.
In the current investment landscape, VC funding in crypto has seen significant shifts. During May 2025, VC activity hit its lowest deal count in over four years, with only 62 funding rounds completed, although these deals totaled more than $909 million. This has prompted investors to shift focus from speculative approaches toward more established business models.
Bitcoin-focused initiatives have gained traction among investors, particularly during the first half of 2025, with the Bitcoin DeFi sector accumulating $175 million across 32 deals. Other noteworthy investments include Stable, which raised $28 million for its Tether-focused blockchain, and French fintech Spiko, which garnered $22 million for tokenized money market funds. Inveniam Capital also invested $20 million in a layer-1 blockchain, Mantra, to support institutional real-world assets.
Overall, venture capital investment in the cryptocurrency sector reached an impressive $10.03 billion in the second quarter of 2025—the highest quarterly funding level since Q1 2022, which saw investments of $16.64 billion. This underscores a revitalization of interest in blockchain technologies and a pivot toward more sustainable investment strategies.
