I recently noticed a quite interesting phenomenon. In early May, the crypto market suddenly saw two large funding rounds—Haun Ventures’ $1 billion new fund and a16z crypto’s fifth fund with $2.2 billion. The timing is a bit intriguing because it’s not a bull market right now; rather, it’s a period when regulatory frameworks are gradually taking shape.

Back in the 2021 bull run, VC investing in projects was very straightforward—just look for rapid growth, market dominance, and narrative creation. Metrics like TVL, user growth, and token price expectations, the higher they soared, the more popular the project. But FTX’s collapse changed everything. It wasn’t just liquidity shrinking; more importantly, regulators started truly intervening in the crypto market. The SEC, CFTC, and banking regulators all began to take things seriously.

Now, the logic of capital has completely reversed. Instead of buying into “potential future growth,” the more practical question is—how long can this project survive within the future regulatory framework? Compliance capabilities, compatibility with traditional finance, and degree of institutionalization—these previously overlooked factors suddenly became central to valuation.

Recently, I’ve noticed stablecoins becoming the most active area for investors. Tether’s profits come from interest on U.S. Treasury reserves, and Circle is shifting toward a full-fledged payments infrastructure—these all have real revenue models, unlike past crypto projects that relied solely on market sentiment. More importantly, U.S. regulators’ attitude toward stablecoins is changing. From a vague gray area, they are now seriously considering integrating stablecoins into the financial system. Traditional payment giants like Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe are also increasing their stake in stablecoins.

Looking at Haun Ventures’ new direction reveals this shift. Katie Haun, a former federal prosecutor involved in multiple crypto investigations, has brought a regulatory perspective to Haun Ventures from day one. Their investments in projects like Bridge and BitGo are foundational infrastructure capable of entering the mainstream financial system. The new fund focuses heavily on financial infrastructure, asset tokenization, and AI agent economies—an obvious logic: find those that can work in harmony with regulatory frameworks and banking systems.

In contrast, a16z crypto’s Fund 5 has a similar but differently expressed approach. They no longer emphasize “Web3 explosion,” but instead highlight a key question: after the bubble deflates, which products will still have users? The seven investment areas of Fund 5—stablecoins, payments, on-chain finance, RWA, perpetual futures, prediction markets, AI agents—all are entering real financial scenarios. a16z partner Guy Wuollet put it vividly: the field has shifted from “coding smart contracts in mom’s basement while wearing hoodies” to “wearing a tie and meeting with banks to discuss blockchain.”

These two large funding rounds are essentially answering the same question: who is better equipped to navigate the regulatory cycle? The crypto industry is shifting from wild growth to integration with mainstream finance. At this turning point, capital is rapidly consolidating into top-tier institutions capable of full-cycle investments. Early-stage funding is shrinking, while late-stage funding is exploding—divisions are becoming more pronounced.

To some extent, this indicates that capital hasn’t left the scene; it’s just redefining the rules of the game. Over the next decade, what truly matters won’t be whose tokens rise the fastest, but who can build infrastructure capable of truly entering the global financial system. Under this new logic, finding investors with regulatory certainty will define the next ten years.