Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Ventures Fund I LP is expected to raise around $175 million to $180 million by the end of June to build a portfolio of 30 crypto and blockchain startups.
According to an April 17 Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter, the fund — which has had a focus on payments and stablecoins — has surpassed its goal of raising $150 million.
The fund closing above target comes at a time when crypto venture capital is thin on the ground despite an industry-friendly administration in the United States.
Earlier this year, Novogratz’s firm reported that 2024 was also a tough year for crypto VC despite potential market drivers such as Bitcoin ETFs, the memecoin craze, and AI agents, which it said were “not particularly suited to venture capital.”
Venture capitalists invested $11.5 billion into crypto and blockchain-focused startups across 2,153 deals in 2024, it reported. This was slightly higher than the $10 billion invested in 2023 but way down from over $30 billion invested in 2022.
Crypto VC investments in America have also decreased by 22% to around $1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2025, according to Pitchbook. It also reported that there has been a pivot to AI, with the sector taking 58% of global venture dollars in the first quarter.
Global crypto VC funding reached $4.8 billion in Q1, the highest since Q3 2022, reported CryptoRank earlier this month. However, the $2 billion investment in Binance from Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX was almost half of that.
The initial close for the Galaxy Ventures Fund I was in June 2024, when it raised $113 million.
At the time, the fund’s portfolio included synthetic dollar issuer Ethena; M^Zero, a stablecoin liquidity DeFi protocol; layer-1 blockchain Monad; layer-2 tokenized asset chain Plume; and Renzo, a protocol supporting derivatives on assets locked in EigenLayer and Ethereum.
Crypto doing what its supposed to do
Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz remains confident in crypto and Bitcoin (BTC), stating on X on April 16 that it is “doing what it’s supposed to,” and “acting as a report card on financial stewardship.”
“In times of uncertainty, it reflects both the flight to safety and a long-term bet on a new financial system. But as a young asset, it still needs calm to grow. Adoption doesn’t thrive in disorder.”