Crypto protocols raised $1.9 billion in August, down 30% from July’s $2.67 billion, according to DefiLlama data.
Despite the monthly drop, August numbers for raises from venture capital funds align with the numbers recorded in July, with $600 million captured from PUMP’s public sale last month.
DeFi protocols dominated August funding with multiple major raises, including Portal’s $50 million round, M0’s $40 million Series B, and aPriori’s $20 million strategic investment.
The sector attracted consistent institutional capital across infrastructure and trading platforms.
Additionally, the third quarter already surpassed the second quarter’s $4.54 billion totals with $4.57 billion captured in just two months.
AI and infrastructure growth
AI protocols secured substantial funding, with Everlyn raising $15 million and multiple AI-focused projects completing seed rounds.
The convergence of crypto and AI continues attracting venture interest as protocols develop decentralized computing and data solutions. Cybersecurity emerged as another major category with IVIX completing a $60 million Series B, the month’s largest traditional venture round.
Stablecoin infrastructure also drew capital, with Rain securing $58 million in Series B funding.
Payment infrastructure attracted diverse funding. OrangeX completed a $20 million Series B and multiple smaller rounds supporting cross-border and merchant payment solutions. The category benefits from increasing crypto adoption in commercial applications.
Gaming protocols also received some attention, such as Overtake’s $7 million round and continued development funding across multiple projects.
The sector benefits from increased adoption of blockchain-based gaming mechanics and token economies.
Public token sales lose ground
Without a high-profile token sale, such as Pump.fun’s, public token sales represented only $30.7 million across seven projects, including Lombard’s $6.75 million and Almanak’s dual raises totaling nearly $11 million.
Public token sales provide direct community participation while reducing dependence on institutional venture capital.
Layer-2 solutions secured strategic investments with Bitlayer raising $5 million through public token sales and Hemi Labs completing a $15 million growth round.
The third quarter’s performance demonstrates sustained institutional interest despite monthly fluctuations.