An interesting observation: recently, I saw news about funding rounds for two major crypto funds, Haun Ventures and a16z crypto, which respectively completed $1 billion and $2.2 billion in financing. On the surface, these are just two funding rounds, but behind them reflect a deeper shift in the investment logic of the entire industry.

Do you remember the 2021 bull market? Back then, VCs were wildly chasing high-growth stories—who’s TVL was growing the fastest, who had the most users, who could tell the most explosive narratives, would get massive funding. But the collapse of FTX changed everything. Starting in 2022, regulators began to step in seriously, with the US SEC and CFTC scrutinizing stablecoins, trading platforms, and DeFi more and more.

Now, the situation has completely reversed. Capital in the primary market no longer pays for "future growth potential," but is asking a more realistic question: how long can this project survive within the regulatory framework? Can it be compatible with traditional financial systems? Can it be truly institutionalized? That’s why stablecoins suddenly became the hottest fundraising track—they have real revenue, regulatory certainty, and institutional demand.

Interestingly, two funds with very different styles completed large financings at this time, and the underlying logic is actually consistent. Katie Haun Ventures’ founder, Katie Haun, was a federal prosecutor, so Haun Ventures has had a natural regulatory perspective from the start. They focus on infrastructure that can enter the mainstream financial system, like stablecoins, payments, and custody. Meanwhile, a16z crypto, although with a different style, also explicitly listed stablecoins, on-chain finance, RWA, and AI agents—areas with real application scenarios—in their Fund 5 investment directions.

Even more interesting is the concentration of fundraising. Now, large amounts of capital are increasingly concentrated in leading institutions, while early-stage funding is shrinking. What does this indicate? It shows that the industry is moving from a phase of wild growth into maturity. Those who can find certainty within long-term regulatory cycles will define the next decade. To some extent, these two funding rounds are both answering the same question: who can survive the longest?