According to data from Defilama, Crypto Protocols raised $1.9 billion in August, down 30% from $2.67 billion in July.
Despite the monthly decline, salary increases from venture capital funds coincided with the numbers recorded in July, earning $600 million from Pump’s public sales last month.
Defi Protocols dominated August funding with multiple major pay increases, including Portal’s $50 million round, M0’s $40 million Series B, and Apriori’s $20 million strategic investment.
The sector attracted consistent institutional capital across infrastructure and trading platforms.
Additionally, the third quarter already surpassed the second quarter’s total of $4.54 billion, earning $4.57 billion in just two months.
Growth of AI and infrastructure
The AI protocol secured a large amount of funding, Everlyn raised $15 million, and several AI-focused projects have completed the seed round.
The convergence of Crypto and AI continues to attract venture interest as protocols develop distributed computing and data solutions. Cybersecurity has emerged as another major category where IVIX completes its largest traditional venture round, the $60 million Series B, the month.
Stablecoin infrastructure also pulled out capital, with Rain securing $58 million in Series B funding.
Payment infrastructure raised a diverse range of funds. Orangex has completed a $20 million Series B and several small rounds supporting border and merchant payment solutions. This category benefits from increased adoption of crypto in commercial applications.
Gaming Protocol has attracted some attention, including Overtake’s $7 million round and ongoing development funding across multiple projects.
The sector benefits from increased adoption of blockchain-based gaming mechanics and token economy.
Public token sales lose ground
Without the well-known token sales such as Pump.Fun, public token sales would have accounted for just $30.7 million in seven projects, including Lombard’s $6.75 million and Almanac’s double pay raises.
Public token sales provide direct community participation while reducing agency reliance on venture capital.
The Layer-2 solution secured strategic investments, with Bitlayer raising $5 million through public token sales and HEMI labs, completing a $15 million growth round.
Third quarter performance shows sustained institutional interest despite monthly fluctuations.
