Every month, numerous companies, both start-ups and well-established players in the crypto ecosystem, manage to attract investor interest and secure funding. October 2025 was no exception to the rule, with more than $6.76 billion raised by high-potential companies, including more than $3.16 billion raised by just six of them.
Polymarket raises $2 billion, an all-time record in crypto
On October 7, Polymarket announced a historic fundraising round. An all-time record in the crypto ecosystem, with $2 billion raised in a “strategic” funding round.
The investor is none other than Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Although the regulatory framework still needs to be defined before Polymarket can officially offer its products to Americans, institutional investors seem very optimistic about the future.
Furthermore, the “Trump clan” has sensed an opportunity: while Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has been a strategic advisor to Kalshi (Polymarket’s most credible competitor) since January, Trump Media & Technology is planning to compete with Polymarket via Crypto.com, according to our colleagues at Bloomberg.
In short, prediction markets are on the rise and have the implicit support of the most powerful family in the United States. It remains to be seen whether the Trump clan will take advantage of its position to further its personal interests, a strategy regularly denounced by Donald Trump’s political opposition.
The 5 other major fundraisers in October
Every month, numerous fundraising rounds are organized and conducted so that crypto companies can raise money and grow.
In October 2025, companies in the sector that organized fundraising rounds managed to raise more than $6.76 billion, including $3.16 billion by just six of them.
These are particularly substantial sums that demonstrate institutional interest in a rapidly growing crypto sector:
5 – Daylight
- Operation: Financing round;
- Company and/or project launch date: 2022;
- Amount raised: $75 million.
Daylight is a company operating in the decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) sector applied to energy: it is setting up a domestic energy network based on solar panels and battery storage to transform every home into a mini power plant.
The model is as follows: customers subscribe to the service and receive the installation (at no initial cost), then benefit from a more stable/advantageous electricity rate than traditional suppliers (according to Daylight’s official blog), while also monetizing excess energy.
In addition, Daylight plans to launch a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol called DayFi, which will allow investors to earn returns directly linked to the electricity revenue generated by the Daylight network.
On October 16, Daylight raised $75 million from renowned venture capital (VC) firms such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Coinbase Ventures, M13, etc. This round of financing was led by Framework Ventures.
The funds raised will be used primarily to expand the Daylight network into new homes and to launch and structure its DayFi protocol.
4 – The Small Exchange
- Operation: Acquisition;
- Company and/or project launch date: 2017;
Amount raised: $100 million.
Kraken, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced the acquisition of The Small Exchange, a US exchange specializing in futures and derivatives, for a total of $100 million.Founded in 2017 and historically linked to the British group IG, The Small Exchange is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which allows it to offer trading in futures, options, and regulated derivatives in the United States.
According to the official press release, the transaction was structured around a payment of $32.5 million in cash and $67.5 million in shares of Payward, Kraken’s parent company.
The objective is clear: to enable Kraken to develop a full range of derivatives products for its US customers. Until now, the platform did not offer derivatives trading in the United States, unlike what it already offers its European users via Crypto Facilities, its British subsidiary acquired in 2019. The transaction is part of a vertical integration strategy that Kraken has been pursuing for several months. In March 2025, the company had already acquired NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion. These strategic moves come as part of preparations for a potential IPO: according to Bloomberg, Kraken is considering a listing on the Nasdaq in January 2026.
3 – Greenlane Holdings
- Transaction: PIPE transaction;
- Company and/or project launch date: 2005;
- Amount raised: $110 million.
Greenlane Holdings is a Florida-based company that specializes in the development, distribution, and sale of cannabis accessories (legal in that state for medical use).
Following financial difficulties and a potential delisting from the Nasdaq, Greenlane Holdings made a strategic shift to become the “first BERA token crypto treasury” of the Berachain layer 1 blockchain.
With this in mind, the company carried out a PIPE transaction, raising $110 million. The transaction was led by Polychain Capital and included participation from Blockchain.com Ventures and Kraken Ventures. The price of the BERA token was not positively impacted by the news, falling 28% since the announcement.
2 – Echo
- Operation: Acquisition;
- Company and/or project launch date: 2023;
- Amount raised: $375 million.
Echo is a platform specializing in on-chain fundraising, enabling crypto projects, startups, and institutions to access decentralized financing mechanisms.
In particular, it offers private rounds (qualified investors), public token sales (ICOs) via a product called Sonar, and an infrastructure for investor management, KYC/AML compliance, etc.
On October 21, Coinbase announced the acquisition of Echo for approximately $375 million, consisting of a mix of fiat currency and shares (the percentages are not specified in Coinbase’s official press release).
This transaction is part of Coinbase’s strategy to build a comprehensive end-to-end infrastructure: from token creation (with the previous acquisition of LiquiFi) to fundraising (Echo) and distribution on its main platform.
1 – Tempo
- Transaction: Series A funding round;
- Company and/or project launch date: 2023;
- Amount raised: $500 million.
Tempo is a layer 1 blockchain focused on stablecoin payments, incubated by Stripe and Paradigm.
On October 17, Tempo announced that it had completed a Series A funding round totaling $500 million. The transaction was led by Greenoaks Capital and included participation from Sequoia Capital, SV Angel, Ribbit Capital, and Thrive Capital.
The funds will be used to develop infrastructure, recruit top engineers, and establish partnerships with payment giants. According to Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, Tempo is already collaborating with companies such as OpenAI (ChatGPT), Shopify, Visa, Anthropic (Claude), and Deutsche Bank.
Honorable mentions
Among the projects that raised funds in October, to a lesser extent, we can mention a few.
The Jito protocol raised $50 million in a strategic round of financing from the a16z investment fund.
MegaETH, a future Layer 2 on the Ethereum blockchain, raised nearly $50 million in an ICO conducted on the Echo platform.
Limitless, a prediction market native to the Base blockchain, raised $10 million in a seed funding round.
