CMT Digital Secures $136M for New Fund Targeting DeFi and Infrastructure Startups

Quick Breakdown 

• CMT Digital closed Fund IV at $136M, targeting early-stage DeFi and blockchain infrastructure startups.
• The firm draws on quant trading roots to evaluate technology beyond market cycles.
• The raise stands out amid a sharp contraction in crypto venture funding since 2022.

 

Chicago-based venture firm CMT Digital has closed its fourth investment fund, raising $136 million to back early-stage blockchain infrastructure and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. The announcement, made on November 5, reflects ongoing — though more selective — investor participation in the digital assets sector.

🚨BULLISH!!!

CMT Digital raised $136M for a new crypto fund

WE STILL GOT IT🔥 pic.twitter.com/wep1TVjlzg

— Kyle Chassé / DD🐸 (@kyle_chasse) November 5, 2025

Backing builders through market cycles

An affiliate of the long-running proprietary trading firm CMT Group, CMT Digital has been active in crypto venture funding since 2016 and has now made more than 200 investments across market highs and lows. Partner Sam Hallene said the latest fund drew interest from institutional limited partners and family offices, showing that capital remains available for teams focused on real utility and durable infrastructure.

“As the world continues to move on-chain, the most transformative ideas are still ahead. With new capital and strong partners, we’re committed to helping the next wave of founders build,”

Hallene said.

A strategy rooted in quant trading insight

The firm’s investment philosophy is shaped by CMT Group’s 25-year history in quantitative trading. This background provides in-house research and market modelling capabilities that the team believes help identify technology with staying power rather than hype-based momentum.

Fund I backed foundational crypto access points like Coinbase and BitGo. Fund II focused on core blockchain rails and developer infrastructure, supporting companies including Consensys and dYdX. Fund III expanded into payments and consumer applications, with investments in Ethena and Sky Mavis. Fund IV will centre on what CMT describes as “re-architecting finance,” supporting blockchain-native systems intended for global financial markets.

Arriving in a cooling venture market

The capital raise comes amid one of the slowest stretches for crypto VC in recent years. Galaxy Digital data shows that crypto startups secured just $1.97 billion across 378 deals in Q2 2025 — down 59% from the prior quarter and marking one of the weakest periods since 2020. For context, more than $13 billion entered the sector in Q1 2022 alone.

August 2025 brought notable shifts in crypto venture capital, according to RootData. The month recorded 81 publicly disclosed funding rounds, a 6.6% increase from July but a 29.6% decrease year-over-year.