PANews reported on March 20 that according to The Block, the number of monthly venture transactions in the crypto space has shrunk significantly, with only 116 private transactions tracked in February, one of the lowest points in recent years. This is a sharp drop from the more than 300 transactions recorded in October 2024 - a 60% drop in five months. This slowdown is consistent with broader market conditions as the overall risk appetite in financial markets has weakened. Despite the decrease in trading volume, the total investment value remained relatively stable in February at about US$1 billion, consistent with the monthly total since October 2022.

However, there was an exception in March, with investments exceeding $2.3 billion. Binance reached an agreement with Abu Dhabi's MGX, which invested $2 billion in the cryptocurrency exchange. Although traditional venture transactions seem to be cooling down, new investment models are emerging. Coinbase Ventures launched an investment group on the Echo platform that focuses exclusively on projects built on Base. Echo represents an interesting evolution in the crypto financing space, allowing individual traders to pool resources and invest together in web3 projects.

The contraction in the venture capital space appears to have affected all cryptocurrency categories relatively evenly, with the number of deals in the infrastructure, DeFi, crypto financial services, web3, and NFT/gaming sectors all falling from their peaks in 2024. This cooling of the venture capital environment may mark a maturation phase for the cryptocurrency industry, with investors becoming more discerning and focusing on sustainable business models rather than speculative concepts.