While Normies Nap, VCs Are Funding the Whole Damn Crypto Buffet

CryptoDep dropped a fundraising roundup on April 13, and it’s less "bull run prep" and more "let’s build the entire kitchen." We’re talking infrastructure, AI, fintech that doesn’t make you cringe, social apps that might not die in six months, prediction markets, exchanges, and DeFi—because apparently someone still believes in diversified portfolios. The funding spans from “I can afford a Lambo” seven-figure checks to a jaw-dropping $44 million Series A for Pharos. Spoiler: the VCs are not waiting for retail to wake up from their memecoin coma.

Yeah, That’s RWA Flexing

Pharos just pocketed $44 million in a Series A that smells suspiciously like institutional FOMO. The company’s building on-chain real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure across Asia, branding itself as a financial-grade, asset-native Layer 1. With $52 million now in the war chest, they’re not just knocking on TradFi’s door—they’re sending a certified letter via blockchain notary. The RWA narrative remains the favorite PowerPoint slide at VC meetups, especially when you promise compliance, instant settlement, and blockchain tech in a single, neatly wrapped bundle. It’s like the ETF of infrastructure—boring to degens, catnip to pension funds.

AI Gets Its Cut (Again)

Oh raised $7.5 million in a Series A led by Maven11 Capital, with a supporting cast that reads like a crypto fund bingo card: L1D, Auros Global, Hashed, Maelstrom Fund, and Cadenza Ventures. Previous believers Cyber Fund, Kosmos VC, and Tangent also showed up, probably to check if the AI actually works this time. The team’s cooking up a Web3 AI platform with decentralized AI tools, including OhChat—because of course the crypto version of AI needs a chatbot. Turns out, investors still have a soft spot for AI-native crypto when it doesn’t sound like vaporware wrapped in a whitepaper burrito.

Consumer Apps Crash the Party

GoSats just locked in $5 million in a Series A led by Konvoy, with Y Combinator and Taisu Ventures joining the receipt-signing ceremony. They’re expanding a platform that turns your Starbucks habit into Bitcoin and gold rewards—because nothing says “financial freedom” like earning sats on oat milk lattes. Meanwhile, Giggles snagged $1.2 million in pre-seed from 1kx and friends, betting on a social app where content is tradable. Yes, you can now flip memes like NFTs. Welcome to social finance, where attention is tokenized and clout has a bid price. Investors apparently believe people will use crypto apps that don’t require knowing what an RPC is.

DeFi Still Knows How to Pay the Bills

Enhanced pulled in $1 million in a strategic pre-seed led by Maximum Frequency Ventures, with GSR, Selini, and Flowdesk all chipping in. They’re expanding structured yield and options strategies across more on-chain assets—including those freshly tokenized RWAs from earlier. It’s yield farming, but with more spreadsheets and fewer memes. Over at Splyce Finance, a strategic round closed with heavy backing from the Sui Foundation, Stellar Foundation, and Solana Foundation—though the amount remains under wraps, like a stealth drop from a project that won’t shut up about decentralization. And yes, it’s poetic that $SUI, $XLM, and $SOL ecosystems are funding DeFi that might eventually compete with their own chains. Capitalism is nothing if not self-owning.

Prediction Markets Get a Second Wind

Predict.fun scored a strategic follow-on from YZi Labs and Susquehanna Crypto after grinding through EASY Residency—because nothing says credibility like surviving a Web3 accelerator. The platform’s also been linked to Binance Wallet’s foray into prediction