VC hype bubble bursts as crypto projects sink below valuations in 2025

A widening gap between venture capital pricing and public market caps signals a reset after narrative optimism cooled.

Crypto venture capital firms poured billions into early-stage tokens during the 2025 venture boom, but many of those bets are now trading well below their face fundraising value.

The growing gap between private funding figures and public market capitalizations points to a market reset after narrative optimism cooled.

Data recently shared by CryptoRank shows that dozens of well-funded projects are losing hundreds of millions, and in some cases almost all, of their implied value once tokens hit the open markets, raising new questions about price discipline during bull cycles.

VC valuations correspond to the reality of the public market

CryptoRank’s comparison of VC valuations versus current market caps painted a grim picture. Humanity Protocol, once priced at a $1 billion valuation during private rounds, is now at about $285 million. Plasma and ICNT show smaller differences in comparison, with Plasma at roughly $224 million versus a $500 million valuation, and ICNT nearly $247 million versus $470 million.

The steepest descents are harder to ignore. Fuel Network, Double Zero and Bubblemaps, which recently mocked US rapper Soulja Boy for his past involvement in crypto and NFT promotions, each had a billion or near billion dollar valuation but now trade around $11 million, $373,000 and $6 million respectively.

Camp Network and TreeHouse followed a similar path, dropping from $400 million valuations to around $15 million to $16 million. Privasea also stood out, dropping from $180 million to around $1 million.

However, other projects showed a more modest decline. For example, Sosovalue has held up relatively well at around $152 million compared to a $200 million valuation, while Yieldbasis is trading at almost $34 million against an initial $50 million valuation.

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Meanwhile, Momentum and Bitlight sit closer to the middle, with market caps of around $43 million and $34 million after funding rounds that put them at $100 million and $170 million.

Funding is recovering, but caution is replacing euphoria

In fact, this valuation reset has come about as overall VC activity picks up again in 2025. Data from CryptoRank shows Quarterly investments in crypto ventures will increase to around $10 billion in the second quarter of 2025, the highest level since early 2022. Moreover, funding remained high at almost $8 billion in both the third and fourth quarters.

In contrast, funding declined steadily during the bear market years, reaching a low of nearly $689 million in the third quarter of 2023 before stabilizing between $1 billion and $2.5 billion through most of 2024. The 2025 recovery closely followed Bitcoin’s price surge above $126,000 mid-year before easing toward $80,000 to $100,000 by year’s end.

What is striking is not only the size of the rebound, but also its timing. The largest capital deployment occurred in the second quarter of 2025, when sentiment was strongest and token prices rose rapidly. According to CryptoRank data, many of the projects now trading well below VC values ​​were funded during this period.

For many investors, the takeaway is not that venture capital has returned, but that public markets are less willing to accept private round stories at face value. As several analysts at