Weekly Financing Report (Issue 5 · Week 30, 2026)

01Financing Overview

A total of 3 financing deals have been recorded in this period (after deduplication).

As of 2026-07-24, 3 financing deals have been recorded in this period, with a total amount of $181.3 million and an average of $60.43 million per deal.

Investment focus is on compliance finance and AI infrastructure. Augustus raised $180 million to expand its dollar payment infrastructure. Cordant and Mandela Digital received $8.0 million and $5.0 million respectively, reflecting ongoing interest from early-stage capital in underlying protocols and AI computing power. Overall, the trend shows dominance by leading projects alongside clear sector differentiation.

02Track Distribution

A total of 3 financing deals were recorded this period. However, macro data shows that the total financing volume in the crypto primary market over the past 30 days reached $2.59 billion, involving 68 projects, indicating a significant leader effect. Funding distribution shows a high degree of concentration, with infrastructure/exchanges, AI and data, and compliance and RWA being the three main trending areas. Notably, Crypto.com and Ionic Digital each raised $400 million in single deals, while Bitbank secured $289 million, with large-scale financings dominating the market landscape.

Compared to the previous period ($2.64 billion across 65 deals), the total financing amount this time decreased by $50 million, but the number of projects increased by 3, suggesting that funds are further concentrating on top-tier projects and that the financing threshold for early-stage projects is rising. Traditional financial giants such as Citadel and SBI are accelerating their expansion efforts, making compliance and institutional-level services key growth areas. The boundaries between traditional capital and traditional crypto VCs are blurring, and the trend toward institutionalization is deepening.

In terms of specific deals, Augustus raised $180 million led by Tiger Global and others; Cordant Seed received $8 million; and Mandela Digital got $5 million. In terms of sector strength, GameFi led with a score of 6.4, followed by ETH, BTC, and Solana ecosystems, all at 5.0 points. Stablecoins and LST came next, reflecting that while the market seeks high-return opportunities, it still values the stability of underlying ecosystems. Overall, funding preferences are shifting from scattered exploration to a focus on AI infrastructure and compliant top platforms.

03Interpretation of Key Projects

Benchmark date: 2026-07-24

This week, the crypto primary market showed a significant concentration trend, with capital heavily focused on infrastructure, AI computing power, and compliance-related projects. Although the overall financing environment was influenced by macroeconomic sentiment, projects with traditional financial backing or core infrastructure attributes still received substantial funding.

A key example is the Augustus project. On July 21, 2026, the crypto bank Augustus raised $180 million in funding, led by Tiger Global Management, with a valuation reaching $1 billion. This round of financing was aimed at expanding dollar payment infrastructure and optimizing the correspondent banking system, highlighting institutional capital’s emphasis on compliant payment solutions. Against the backdrop of S&P’s introduction of new indices based on protocol-based revenue, Augustus seeks to build a stronger bridge between decentralized finance and traditional banking systems by enhancing its underlying payment capabilities. Its valuation logic is shifting from traffic-driven models to those focused on revenue and compliance advantages.

Another noteworthy trend is the deep integration of AI and crypto infrastructure. Although no purely AI-focused projects were featured among this week’s major financing deals, industry funding patterns—such as BlackRock’s lead in financing Meta’s data center needs and AMD’s investment in Anthropic—reflect the spillover effect of AI computing power demands on crypto infrastructure. The compliance sector remains active as well; an Ondo subsidiary obtained FINRA approval, indicating further expansion of the compliant pathways for tokenized securities in the U.S. market.

In summary, this week’s financing data indicates that the market is moving away from early-stage speculation toward a phase that emphasizes actual revenue, compliance, and robust infrastructure. The entry of traditional financial giants and top-tier venture capitalists is accelerating the integration between the crypto industry and mainstream financial systems, with compliance and institutional-level services becoming key drivers of growth.

04Trends in VC Industry

[2026-07-24] This week’s VC trends have shown a deep integration of traditional finance and AI capital. Tiger Global led a $180 million financing round for Augustus on 2026-07-21, focusing on U.S. dollar payment infrastructure, indicating its strategic shift from early-stage protocols to compliant financial infrastructure. Hummingbird Ventures and QED Investors participated in this round, strengthening the cross-institutional collaboration network in the compliance sector.

On the other hand, traditional giants are accelerating their entry into this field. BlackRock facilitated a $12 billion debt financing deal for Meta’s data centers on 2026-07-20, continuing its investment strategy in AI infrastructure. AMD invested $5 billion in Anthropic on 2026-07-22 to strengthen its ties in the AI computing power supply chain. Coatue led a funding round for Databricks on 2026-07-20, while Sequoia Capital led a round for Etched on 2026-07-23, showing that top-tier VCs are leveraging heavy investments in AI underlying technologies to reap benefits from the expansion beyond the crypto ecosystem. Funding trends indicate that compliant payments and AI infrastructure have become the consensus among institutions, with the financing thresholds for early-stage projects rising significantly.

05Outlook

Benchmark date: 2026-07-24. Over the next 1–4 weeks, interest in AI infrastructure and compliant RWA financing will remain strong. >+ Samsung is in talks to invest in Mistral, with the valuation potentially reaching 20 billion euros; S&P has introduced revenue-based indices to reshape investment strategies. >! JPMorgan Chase warns that AI returns may fall short of expectations amid geopolitical risks.

Multiple scenario analyses: Optimistic: Leading AI projects secure large-scale funding, driving strength in related stocks in the secondary market. Neutral: Financing activity remains steady, with capital focused on compliant infrastructure. Pessimistic: Macroeconomic risks intensify, leading to valuation corrections in the primary market.

Action recommendations: Keep an eye on the progress of the pre-IPO financing for Dark Moon in August; invest in AI computing power and data projects linked to giants such as Samsung and AMD; based on the revenue-index approach, allocate appropriately to infrastructure sectors with real cash flows.

Key areas of focus: 1. Results of Dark Moon’s financing negotiations; 2. Progress of Samsung’s investment in Mistral; 3. Performance of the first batch of stocks included in S&P’s revenue index.

06Related Reads

1. “Fees Affect Market Value: S&P’s New Index Reshapes the Logic of Crypto Investing”