VCs debate crypto’s trajectory: 2025 funding tops $20B as DeFi leads

Chris Dixon of a16z Crypto and Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly set out opposing views on whether crypto can scale beyond finance. In 2025, venture funding surpassed $20 billion, with Q4 contributing $8.5 billion across 425 deals, while DeFi metrics showed a TVL near $99.07 billion and stablecoin supply above $307 billion. Their exchange frames finance as the most validated use so far.