Crypto startups reported nearly $255 million in disclosed funding between July 1 and July 11, 2026, according to data tracked by Incrypted. The outlet counted 11 investment deals during the period, spanning venture rounds, M&A activity, and other fundraising formats, though only seven transactions included public funding amounts.
Those seven disclosed rounds added up to about $254.5 million. No corporate investment deals were recorded in the period, while separate from the startup financings, venture firm Paradigm announced a new $1.2 billion fund focused on crypto and adjacent technologies.
Gauntlet and EDX Markets led the period
The two largest disclosed raises accounted for most of the money reported in early July. Gauntlet brought in $125 million in what the company said was the biggest funding round in its history since its 2018 founding. The firm builds digital asset management tools for institutional investors and crypto companies, and Japanese financial group SBI Holdings participated in the round. Gauntlet did not disclose a valuation.
EDX Markets followed with a $76 million Series C round led by SBI Holdings, making SBI the most active named investor in the tracked period with participation in two deals. EDX Markets said it plans to use the capital to launch new products and support international expansion. The company runs an institutional crypto marketplace designed to separate trading from custody and settlement through a central clearinghouse structure intended to reduce counterparty risk.
Mid-sized rounds targeted infrastructure and expansion
Mercado Bitcoin, described in the report as Latin America’s largest provider of onchain financial services, raised $20 million in a strategic round that included Tether. The company said the new money will go toward tokenization, payments infrastructure, lending, capital markets, and international growth. Tether said the investment fits its longer-term strategy of backing open onchain financial infrastructure in regions with strong digital asset adoption.
Extended disclosed a $12.5 million raise from eToro, Jump Crypto, and Amber Blanc. Alongside the financing, eToro became a strategic partner under its Web3 strategy. Extended said it will use the funds to develop its exchange and related infrastructure, while also integrating its perpetual futures product into the non-custodial Zengo wallet.
THEA raised $8 million in a round led by Maven11 Capital, Spartan Group, Manifold Trading, HackVC, and Fisher8 Capital. The company is building what it described as a predictive behavioral AI network for high-risk markets and said the capital will support the scaling of its AI infrastructure and an onchain coordination layer on Solana.
Smaller disclosed deals carried specific product plans
KOR Protocol closed a $7.5 million Series A round at a $100 million valuation, with investors including 1kx and Blockchain Capital. The project is building onchain infrastructure for the entertainment sector on Base and said the proceeds will be used to expand the platform, grow its ecosystem and partner network, and prepare for a future token launch. Its stated focus is managing creative assets and intellectual property workflows in the AI era.
M1X Global reported a $5.5 million seed round led by Paradigm, with Breed VC participating. The startup is working on sovereign financial infrastructure and said the funding will help it build systems for issuing sovereign tokenized financial instruments, including USDM1 with the Marshall Islands.
No corporate placements tracked, while Paradigm unveiled a new fund
Incrypted said it did not record any corporate deals during the July 1-11 window. The report instead centered on venture financings and a broader mix of investment activity, with disclosed startup rounds heavily concentrated in market infrastructure, institutional services, onchain finance, and tokenization-related products.
The next confirmed development highlighted in the report came from Paradigm rather than a portfolio company. The crypto-focused venture firm announced its fourth fund, sized at $1.2 billion, to back startups across crypto, AI, robotics, and related sectors. That fund announcement was separate from the $255 million startup total, but it points to additional capital being set aside for future deals in the space.
Source: incrypted.com