VC insiders: There may be fewer than 20 VCs left in the industry that are still willing to invest in seed rounds.

Tom Dunleavy, Head of Venture Capital at Varys Capital, wrote on X that the funding environment in the cryptocurrency market has changed dramatically over the past six months. Previously, VCs had to constantly expand their networks, write content, appear on podcasts, participate in Spaces, and promote their investment rationale to invest in good projects, making countless phone calls every week… But now, simply having money to invest is enough. Projects are now “pushed to VCs,” rather than VCs actively seeking them out; as long as others know you have funds, projects will come to you. Most VC firms are now in one of three states: they're out of money, they're moving to later stages (Series A and beyond), or they're raising funds (but not successfully). Fundraising that used to take 2-3 weeks now often drags on for 2-3 months. Projects with questionable business models or that simply copy the latest trend narratives are no longer getting new funding or follow-on investments (which is a good thing). There are probably fewer than 20 firms still actively investing in pre-seed/seed rounds. VCs can generally choose the projects they want to invest in at their leisure, and have more time to conduct due diligence. This investment cycle in 2025 and 2026 may very well become a historic "golden opportunity," but only if VCs can stay and invest.