Crypto funding falls 74% in April to 12-month low

Crypto fundraising in April 2026 totaled $662.4 million across 64 disclosed venture rounds, according to CryptoRank MCP. The amount was down 74% month‑over‑month from March’s $2.59 billion and marked the lowest monthly total in the prior 12 months.

Round activity also contracted: the 64 rounds represented a 23% decline from March and continued a decline from a peak of 125 rounds in October 2025. Investors completed fewer financings and individual checks were smaller in April.

When M&A and strategic transactions are included, disclosed capital for the month reached $1.57 billion. Mergers and acquisitions accounted for $765 million across six deals, or about 48.6% of disclosed flows, while venture rounds comprised 42.1% of disclosed capital spread over 64 financings.

By transaction type, late-stage and strategic financings (Series A, B, C and strategic rounds) fell to $296 million, an 86% month‑over‑month decline. M&A dollar volume decreased 58% from March. Capital from IPOs and PIPEs dropped to zero in April after totaling $646 million in the prior month.

Category-level activity showed exchanges received the largest share of venture capital, with $231 million across six exchange deals. The largest disclosed VC round was Payward’s $200 million for its regulated exchange and custody operations. Payments saw a $100 million Series C for Slash. Decentralized finance and AI led in deal count with 12 and 10 deals respectively, though their average ticket sizes were smaller than exchange and payments rounds. Infrastructure and payments combined showed both deal volume and higher dollar amounts.

Investor participation declined as well. A total of 211 unique investors took part in April financings, down 45% from March’s 383 and 72% below the April 2024 peak of 741. GSR participated in four April deals, and Maven 11 Capital led both rounds it joined. Many top funds appeared as co-investors rather than primary backers.

Top venture rounds in April included Payward ($200 million), Slash ($100 million), Cross River ($50 million), Pharos ($44 million), and a group of mid-sized financings such as Fence ($20 million), Reppo ($20 million), Spektr ($20 million), Squads ($18 million), Liquid ($18 million) and Belo ($14 million). Those rounds accounted for most VC dollars in the month.

The data cover April 1–30, 2026 and come from CryptoRank MCP. Venture totals in this report exclude M&A, IPO, debt and PIPE transactions where noted; disclosed capital figures reflect combined totals when strategic and M&A deals are included.