Summer crypto market saw major capital rotation into infrastructure, RWA, and credit: Crypto.com raised $400M from Citadel Securities, Figure acquired Kiavi for $717M, and Robinhood Chain launched with $713M TVL.
DeFi & Yields ·
Over the summer, crypto markets experienced a substantial shift in capital deployment toward infrastructure, real-world assets, and credit products rather than speculative plays. Crypto.com secured $400M from Citadel Securities, marking the period's largest funding round and signaling traditional finance interest in established exchanges. In parallel, Figure completed the largest acquisition, purchasing KiaviFunding for $717M to expand its real-estate lending operations within the RWA sector.
Network launches and token offerings also drove significant activity. Robinhood's Layer 2 chain entered with $713M in total value locked and $16.1B in 30-day decentralized exchange volume, establishing itself as the summer's most prominent new chain. Cap's token generated 6.3x returns from a $106M public sale, reaching a $675M fully diluted valuation. AxisFDN emerged as the largest new DeFi protocol with $67.7M TVL, structured around market-neutral basis trading with projected returns between 10–20% annually. CB Ventures recorded the most investment activity with 12 rounds, including a $335M deployment into CantonNetwork.
The underlying narrative reflects a sustained reallocation away from high-risk speculation and toward tangible yield-bearing infrastructure and credit mechanisms. Whether this capital concentration indicates a durable structural shift or cyclical market timing remains to be determined.