Paradigm Leads VC Game with 11.80% Performance Over the Last 12 Months: Kaito AI

Kaito AI has ranked Paradigm as the top-performing crypto venture capital (VC) firm over the past 12 months, posting an 11.80% performance metric.

The firm leads ahead of Alliance (10.64%), Dragonfly (8.32%), a16z (6.94%), and Multicoin Capital (5.86%), which round out the top five.

“This suggests that Paradigm may have a strong track record of identifying and investing in promising crypto projects before they become mainstream, leading to substantial returns,” the Web3 information company said in a post on X.

Paradigm’s Winning Streak in Crypto Investments

Founded by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang, Paradigm has built a reputation for identifying high-growth crypto projects early.

The firm was an early investor in Uniswap (UNI) and dYdX, two major players in the decentralized finance (DeFi) and derivatives market.

Paradigm has also been a consistent backer of Optimism (OP), an Ethereum scaling solution designed to lower transaction costs and congestion.

Additionally, it led a $255 million funding round for StarkNet, a zero-knowledge rollup network focused on Ethereum scalability.

Dragonfly, which ranks third, has invested in major projects like Avalanche (AVAX) and NEAR Protocol (NEAR), both of which have gained strong traction in the crypto space.

The firm also backed Compound and MakerDAO, two foundational projects in the DeFi lending sector.

Last 12 months for VC game from @KaitoAI @paradigm is ranked #1 with an impressive 11.80% performance metric, significantly higher than others on the list.

This suggests that Paradigm may have a strong track record of identifying and investing in promising crypto projects… pic.twitter.com/VfJpPJk0QL

— 0xRory /✨🐐/ (@0xRory) March 5, 2025

Meanwhile, Alliance, a crypto accelerator for early-stage Web3 startups, has made notable investments in Story Protocol (IP), Manta Network, and Pump.fun, a Solana-based meme coin launchpad.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) secured the fourth spot, with investments in Coinbase, Uniswap, Celo (CELO), Compound, and Dapper Labs, the company behind CryptoKitties.

Multicoin Capital, ranked fifth, has made key investments in Solana (SOL), Arweave (ARWEAVE), Helium (HNT), and The Graph (GRT).

Beyond the top five, Variant (5.69%), 6MV (5.26%), 1confirmation (4.48%), and Electric Capital (3.61%) rank among the top 10 firms in Kaito AI’s latest rankings.

Additional firms such as Framework Ventures, Delphi Digital, and CoinFund also made the top 20 list, highlighting the growing competition among crypto VC firms.

Crypto VC Funding Rebounds in February, Surging 14.4% Despite Yearly Decline

The crypto venture capital (VC) market experienced a strong recovery in February 2025, with total investment volume increasing 14.4% month-over-month, according to a report by Wu Blockchain.

A total of 98 publicly disclosed crypto VC deals took place, up from 86 in January.

However, despite the monthly growth, funding remained 35.1% lower compared to February 2024, when 151 projects secured investments.

VC Monthly Report: February Sees 14% Growth in Funding Amount and Deal Count, Stablecoins and Payments Dominate Investments.Figure, Ethena, Bitwise, Raise, etc. are the projects with the largest amount of public financing this month. Read more https://t.co/ceOj9QD1XN pic.twitter.com/8fKzg1E9RI

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) March 3, 2025

Total capital inflows reached $951 million in February, marking a sharp increase from $831 million in January and a 24.3% rise from $765 million recorded a year earlier.

The stablecoin sector and payment solutions emerged as the primary investment targets, reflecting the industry’s shift toward financial infrastructure and transactional stability.

Among the top-funded projects, Raise, a gift card startup, secured $63 million in a strategic funding round to integrate crypto payments and stablecoin transactions into its platform.

Meanwhile, Plasma, a blockchain firm specializing in stablecoin networks, raised $24 million in its first funding round.

The company, backed by Framework Ventures, Bitfinex, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, aims to develop a zero-fee Tether (USDT) transaction network.