The U.S. crypto scene never really does boring, but the last few months have been full-on whiplash. In the shadow of what’s being called the “Sell America” trade and a presidential race that seems allergic to predictability, blockchain entrepreneurs did… well, pretty much the opposite of panic. New crypto startups quietly closed a combined $362 million in funding, eyebrow-raising in this jittery climate. Some investors, weirdly enough, see the current chaos as “upside” rather than red flag.
Not everybody’s so convinced, though. At a crowded panel in Manhattan last week, a venture capitalist leaned in, shrugged, and admitted, “I frankly have no idea where regulations go if Trump wins. But I also don’t love the current rules.” The mood swings, the what-ifs—those have become background static. Yet, the money keeps flowing.
Investors Bet Big on Disruption Despite Political Whirlwind
The Political Fog: Trump, Biden, and Risk Recalibrated
With the 2024 U.S. Presidential election looming and headlines shouting about “de-dollarization” or foreign divestment, international capital is understandably twitchy. The phrase “Trump uncertainty” gets thrown around almost as much as “Bitcoin ETF.” Some investors are hedging their bets while others—arguably the bolder or, maybe, just the more optimistic—are doubling down on crypto’s independence.
Across Twitter (err, X) and Telegram, investors argue: Will Trump enable a deregulation boom, or will he clamp down on crypto even harder out of sheer unpredictability? You get both answers, sometimes from the same person within a few beers. And in this mix, the recent $362 million surge in startup funding looks a bit crazy—or perhaps the only sane move left.
Greed, Fear, or Practicality? The Investor Mindset
A major New York blockchain fund’s partner told a Reuters affiliate last week:
“If you’re waiting for political stability in America, you’ll miss most of the real innovation cycles. There’s a window of opportunity here, even if it seems like the ground is moving.”
There is a kind of strange logic to it. When mainstream funds are paralyzed by macro headlines, smaller and more risk-tolerant VCs step in. And with tech stocks jittery, crypto startups offer that magic mix: high risk, yes, but also the possibility nobody saw coming.
Where the $362 Million Went: Sectors and Surprises
Major Categories of Investment
Investors didn’t toss money blindly across the entire landscape—well, not entirely. Most of the $362M found homes in three buzzing verticals:
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Apps that work outside traditional banks, sometimes with questionable code, still attract outsize bets. There’s this persistent hope of the “next Uniswap”—even if lessons from collapsed protocols linger.
- Blockchain Infrastructure: Bridges, wallets, and on-chain data—building blocks, not headlines. Infrastructure plays are quietly fashionable now, with promises to “futureproof” against regulatory change.
- Real-World Asset Tokenization: Startups turning real estate, stocks, and even artwork into tradable blockchain tokens. Feels a little 2017, but now with more legal vocab and actual investor documents.
Of course, these are just labels. Some of the “DeFi” is barely more than a new exchange front-end; occasionally, a pitch deck says “infrastructure” but actually means “a chat app with tokens.”
A Snapshot: Notable Rounds & Unlikely Players
- Degen Labs, a Miami-based NFT project, pulled in a $30M seed round led by an unexpected pension fund. The fund manager, rumored to have been a skeptic, apparently changed their mind after seeing the secondary market’s numbers (and, a source admitted, “after his teenage son wouldn’t shut up about it”).
- Salt Bridge (not the real name—the founders keep it low key), a project working on cross-border stablecoin payments, took $18M from a consortium that includes Asian banks. Do they have a license? Well, they’re “in talks.”
- Multiple gaming and metaverse startups, often dismissed as vaporware, still attracted smaller but high-profile investments—maybe it’s FOMO, maybe hope.
The “Sell America” Trade: Macro Gloom, Micro Bets
De-Dollarization Narratives & Crypto’s Refuge
Here’s where it gets messier: On a macro level, the “Sell America” trade has been gaining steam. Foreign holders offloading U.S. assets, uncertainty over interest rates, and a spate of “America in decline?” think pieces have driven the S&P 500 and tech stocks on a rollercoaster. Overlay Trump’s unpredictable policies and it’s no wonder the traditional market vibe is nervy, skittish.
Yet, in this storm, some investors are reallocating towards crypto almost as a weird safety play. It’s not universal—some are leaving the U.S. market altogether, others are waiting out the election trenches. But there’s this quiet move into digital assets and blockchain infrastructure, seeded on the assumption that decentralized bets might ride out the “Sell America” sentiment.
Contradictions in Capital Flows
It really doesn’t add up at first. Shouldn’t a risk-off mood kill investment? Instead, the clearest pattern is that while big-name hedge funds retreat or at least hedge hard, emerging VCs and non-traditional investors (including some corporates desperate for any innovation edge) are stepping in.
One crypto founder from San Francisco banked a Series A, then immediately hedged his personal payout into stablecoins, “just in case some weird tariff or regulatory move happens in October.” The irony is, crypto founders themselves are diversifying against American volatility, even as they lap up U.S.-denominated VC capital.
Navigating Uncertainty: Real-World Examples and Mixed Expectations
Lessons from Past Cycles—and Present Contradictions
If you talk to people who’ve been in the crypto space since 2016 or earlier, you get a pretty split view. Some argue, “This feels like 2017—huge buzz, shaky foundations, likely to end messy.” Others point to the industry’s post-2020 resilience and wider adoption from institutions and retail alike, arguing that uncertainty is crypto’s native element, not its Achilles’ heel.
- In 2016, regulatory signals flipped multiple times in a quarter, yet the space produced DeFi’s early pioneers.
- After the 2022 crash of big platforms, everyone said the money would dry up; instead, the next wave adjusted, and funding just got weirder.
- Now, despite—or because of—the election volatility, fast-moving founders argue there’s unprecedented white space outside big banks.
The Human Side: Founders’ Calculus
At the New York NFT conference, a founder summed it up over bad coffee: “You can panic and retreat, but then you definitely lose. For now, we play offense.” Not everyone agrees. Some founders are slowing hiring or opening new shell companies in friendlier jurisdictions. It’s a mixed, sometimes messy, response.
“There’s no single script for this market. Everyone’s guessing a little, but the big lesson is: You don’t get certainty; you get strategy and careful speed,” said Rebecca Cho, managing partner at startup accelerator BlockSpark.
The Road Ahead: Strategic Uncertainty, Reluctant Optimism
Crypto’s future in the U.S. (and abroad) will ride on multiple factors: upcoming regulation (which may or may not change post-election), adoption curves for new infrastructure, and whether the macro “Sell America” trade fizzles or turns systemic. For now, the $362 million raised is less about wild optimism and more about smart, if slightly anxious, maneuvering.
There’s no clear consensus. Sizable chunks of investment signal hope, or at least faith in the sector’s ability to adapt. If history’s any guide, those betting on stasis haven’t usually come out ahead—but, hey, in crypto, it’s never quite the same twice.
