Wu says that, according to CryptoRank data, early-stage funding has been on a decline for 7 consecutive quarters. Since Q2 2024, the number of Early-Stage Funding rounds has dropped by 63%, and the funding amount has fallen by 50%. Although there was a brief rebound in Q3 2025, the overall trend remains unchanged. As investors increasingly favor larger and more mature projects, the gap between early-stage funding and later-stage funding continues to widen.