Stablecoin Payment Startups Buck Crypto Funding Winter Trend

Crypto venture investment declined sharply in the first quarter, but stablecoin payment startups are still attracting significant attention from investors.

The total value of crypto VC investments dropped by 50% to around $4 billion, and the number of deals fell by 16%, according to Galaxy Research. This decline was largely driven by fewer large late-stage rounds, while seed and early-stage investment continued.

Despite this, stablecoin payment startups are one of the few areas to produce consecutive sizable rounds despite a difficult funding environment. The Federal Reserve survey showed that stablecoin market capitalization stood at around $317 billion as of April 6, up more than 50% from early 2025.

The reasons for VCs' focus on stablecoin payments can be summarized into five points: they offer a unified settlement asset that operates 24 hours a day, have traditional fintech-style revenue structures, are becoming an invisible backend tool, are benefiting from regulatory changes, and have clearer exit strategies via mergers and acquisitions.