Best VCs for DeFi

#2Dan Elitzer

Co-Founder

Nascent

Co-founded Nascent as a crypto-native fund investing in DeFi and infrastructure. Thesis-driven with a focus on protocols that create new financial primitives.

39 deals

Maven 11 does not publish Darius's personal check range or decision authority. Third-party investor databases estimate ranges, but those figures are not treated as verified evidence. The current firm describes an early-stage venture strategy without attaching a check range to him.

#3Jack Simison

Venture Investor

Nascent

39 deals

Pre-seedSeedEarly Stage

#4Darius Rugys

Partner

Maven 11 Capital

Darius works within Maven 11's crypto-native, early-stage strategy. The firm backs technically fluent founders who challenge the status quo by redefining ownership through open, inclusive, permissionl

16 deals

Maven 11 does not publish a dependable personal or firm check range on its current site. Founders should confirm the applicable venture vehicle, initial ownership, token/equity structure, lead appetite and reserves directly with Pim rather than relying on directory estimates.

#5Pim Swart

Associate Partner

Maven 11 Capital

Pim applies bioinformatics, data-science and machine-learning training to fundamental crypto investing. His disclosed lead investments span decentralized AI compute, zero-knowledge proof systems, tran

16 deals

Pre-SeedSeedEarly Stage

#6Abhishek Shah

Sr Associate Operations

Woodstock Fund

Woodstock publicly describes itself as a thesis- and research-driven Web3 investment firm investing in early and growth stage companies and protocols. Its published thesis centers on three megatrends:

16 deals

Early stageGrowth stage

#7Pranav Sharma

Founding Partner

Woodstock Fund

Woodstock Fund is one of India's earliest crypto-native VCs. Focuses on infrastructure, DeFi, and projects with global reach but India connections. Early backers of Polygon.

16 deals

#8Himanshu Yadav

Founding Partner

Woodstock Fund

Woodstock Fund invests in blockchain infrastructure from India. Early backers of Polygon and other Indian-origin crypto projects.

16 deals

#9Abhinav Pathak

Investment Partner

Woodstock Fund

Woodstock describes itself as a thesis- and research-driven Web 3.0 investment firm investing in early- and growth-stage companies and protocols. Its published thesis is organized around three megatre

16 deals

Early stageGrowth stage

#10Adam Mastrelli

Venture Partner (US)

Woodstock Fund

Based on Woodstock Fund's published thesis, the firm is a thesis- and research-driven Web3 investor backing early- and growth-stage companies and protocols. Its thesis is organized around three megatr

16 deals

Early stageGrowth stage

#11Balder Bomans

Co-Founder

Maven 11 Capital

European crypto investing. DeFi, infrastructure, and zero-knowledge proofs.

16 deals

#12Harshvardhan Walia

Research Associate

Woodstock Fund

16 deals

SeedSeries AGrowth

#13Alexander Nazarov

Co-founder

Hash CIB

Investing in crypto infrastructure and digital assets through Hash CIB, one of Russia/CIS's most established crypto financial firms.

10 deals

#14Tom Shaughnessy

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Delphi Ventures

DeFi research, crypto analytics, and investment analysis. Co-founded Delphi Digital.

8 deals

#15José Maria Macedo

Partner / Head of Ventures

Delphi Ventures

Crypto research and quantitative analysis. Focus on tokenomics and protocol design.

8 deals

#16Luke Saunders

Partner / Head of Delphi Labs

Delphi Ventures

Investing in DeFi and crypto infrastructure at Delphi Ventures. Focuses on technical evaluation of protocols and smart contract systems.

8 deals

#17Anil Lulla

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Delphi Ventures

Co-founder of Delphi Digital and Delphi Ventures. Thesis-driven investing informed by deep crypto research and data analysis.

8 deals

#18Noyes Harrigan

Principal

Framework Ventures

Investing in DeFi and crypto infrastructure at Framework Ventures. Focuses on protocols that expand the design space of decentralized finance.

7 deals

#19Haseeb Qureshi

Managing Partner

Dragonfly

Infrastructure, DeFi, and crypto gaming. Clear thinking and good writing.

7 deals

#20Vance Spencer

Co-Founder & General Partner

Framework Ventures

DeFi, gaming, consumer crypto. High-conviction bets and active portfolio support.

7 deals

#21Tom Schmidt

General Partner

Dragonfly

Early-stage crypto investor at Dragonfly with deep DeFi expertise. Focuses on novel financial primitives and infrastructure that expands what's possible in decentralized finance.

7 deals

#22Michael Anderson

Co-Founder & General Partner

Framework Ventures

DeFi governance and token economics. Active DeFi governance participant.

7 deals

#23Brandon Potts

General Partner

Framework Ventures

DeFi-native investor at Framework Ventures. Focuses on programmable finance and novel DeFi protocols that create new financial primitives.

7 deals

#24Roy Learner

Partner

Framework Ventures

DeFi researcher and investor at Framework Ventures. Deep quantitative approach to evaluating DeFi protocols and their economic sustainability.

7 deals

#25Celia Wan

Principal

Dragonfly

Investing in crypto infrastructure and DeFi at Dragonfly. Focused on the intersection of technology and narrative in crypto markets.

7 deals

a16z crypto does not publish a reliable personal check range for Liz. Her public deal writing spans seed leadership and large later financings, so founders should confirm vehicle, stage, allocation, ownership target, lead/co-lead role, token/equity structure, and reserves with the team.

#26Joshua Lim

Liquid Portfolio Analyst

Dragonfly

7 deals

Liquid

#27Gurnoor Singh Narula

Research Analyst

Placeholder

7 deals

Pre-seedSeedSeries A

#28Elizabeth Harkavy

Investment Partner

a16z crypto

Liz focuses on the picks-and-shovels and decentralized infrastructure that let crypto mature into useful, open economic systems. Her authored investment work emphasizes market infrastructure for incre

6 deals

SeedVentureGrowth

#29Kyle Samani

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Multicoin Capital

Thesis-driven investing. Crypto as coordination layer for the internet. Fat protocol thesis. Early Solana bull. DePIN evangelist.

6 deals

#30Tushar Jain

Managing Partner

Multicoin Capital

Open finance and tokenization. Strong views on stablecoins, DePIN, and crypto in emerging markets.

6 deals

No personal check-size range is published. Greenfield's venture mandate spans pre-seed through later stages; financing amounts in Felix's investment essays are company-round totals, not personal limits.

#31Daren Matsuoka

Partner

a16z crypto

Data-driven crypto research. On-chain metrics, developer activity, ecosystem health. State of Crypto reports.

6 deals

#32Spencer Applebaum

General Partner, Co-Head of Venture

Multicoin Capital

Solana ecosystem, DeFi, DePIN. High-performance blockchain applications.

6 deals

SeedSeries AVenture

#33Sam Broner

Partner

a16z crypto

Enterprise crypto, stablecoins, RWA tokenization. Bridge between TradFi and DeFi.

6 deals

#34Matt Shapiro

Partner, Head of Investor Relations

Multicoin Capital

6 deals

SeedSeries AVenture

#35Noah Levine

Investing Partner

a16z crypto

6 deals

SeedVentureGrowth

#36Felix Machart

Research Partner

Greenfield Capital

Felix uses research and market data to identify durable crypto infrastructure and distinguish fundamental adoption from speculation. His work favors protocols with measurable usage, revenue or value a

5 deals

No personal check-size range is published. Greenfield invests across pre-seed through later stages, while Christian's stated responsibility is implementing investment decisions rather than owning a public personal allocation range.

#37Christian Zimmermann

Partner and Chief Operating Officer

Greenfield Capital

Christian applies transaction, regulatory, and policy expertise to executing Greenfield's crypto investments. His work argues for clear decentralization standards, practical token tax treatment, open

5 deals

No verified personal check-size range is published. Greenfield invests across private, public, and liquid crypto assets from pre-seed through later stages; disclosed Claude-led financings include Rebind's €1.6M pre-seed, Greenfield's co-lead in Layer3's $15M Series A, and Greenfield's lead in Self's $9M seed. Those round sizes are not Claude's personal allocation authority.

#38Claude Donzé

Principal

Greenfield Capital

Claude leads Greenfield's consumer investing and backs crypto products that turn mature onchain rails into understandable, trusted consumer experiences. His published work focuses on mobile-native DeF

5 deals

No personal check range is publicly disclosed. ParaFi's private-markets strategy backs early- and growth-stage companies and protocols, but firm AUM and individual transactions should not be converted into a presumed standard ticket or unilateral authority.

#39Josh Solesbury

Principal

ParaFi Capital

Josh focuses on blockchain infrastructure that can replace costly financial plumbing and connect digital assets to large, existing pools of economic activity. His public work highlights stablecoins fo

5 deals

Early StageGrowth StagePrivate Markets

#40Gleb Dudka

Principal

Greenfield Capital

Gleb leads Greenfield's DeFi work, combining protocol research, infrastructure operating experience, and deal execution. His current research emphasizes capital-efficient and safer liquidity architect

Not publicly disclosed. Greenfield has led and joined pre-seed, seed, and Series A rounds, but public round sizes are not personal or firm check sizes.

5 deals

No personal venture check range is disclosed. Kevin leads quantitative strategies and technology development inside a multi-strategy manager spanning public and private markets; founders should not infer a standard venture ticket or sole decision authority from the Partner title.

#41Kevin YB

Partner

ParaFi Capital

Kevin approaches digital assets as both a quantitative portfolio manager and a systems builder. His remit joins non-directional and fundamental market strategies with production technology, while his

5 deals

Liquid MarketsQuantitative StrategiesPublic Markets

#42Jono Lee

Associate

ParaFi Capital

Jono's public work points to investable digital-asset opportunities where on-chain rails make familiar assets globally accessible and more liquid. He tracks tokenized equities and collectibles through

No personal check range or independent decision authority is publicly disclosed. Jono is an Associate on ParaFi's investment team; ParaFi operates public- and private-market strategies, so founders should confirm the relevant vehicle and process rather than infer a ticket from firm AUM.

5 deals

SeedSeries AGrowth

#43Ben Forman

Founder & Managing Partner

ParaFi Capital

DeFi infrastructure and digital asset management. Bridges institutional capital and DeFi.

5 deals

#44Jascha Samadi

Co-Founder

Greenfield Capital

Web3 infrastructure and DeFi from European perspective.

5 deals

#45Joe Eagan

Partner

Polychain Capital

Investing in blockchain infrastructure and tokens at Polychain Capital, one of the most prominent crypto-native funds.

4 deals

No reliable personal check range or current Blockchain Capital authority is public. Third-party ranges are stale and were excluded. Historical work included consumer-crypto diligence and portfolio support; founders must contact a currently listed Blockchain Capital investor for live check size and sponsorship.

#46Sterling Campbell

Former Investor, Blockchain Capital (off current roster)

Blockchain Capital

In his Blockchain Capital work, Sterling focused on the intersection of consumers and crypto. He saw gaming as a mass-onboarding path because persistent games, interoperable assets and player-owned ec

4 deals

Historical seed and venture investingConsumer-crypto diligencePortfolio support

#47Alpin Yukseloglu

Partner, Investing & Research

Paradigm

Alpin partners with crypto founders and researchers who have strong instincts about the future and the courage to follow them. His work centers on protocol, market, and mechanism design—especially sys

Paradigm says it backs founders at every stage from first check through public markets, but it does not publish Alpin's personal check range or decision authority. A 2024 firm filing described vehicle investments from $1M to $100M or more; that historical firm range is not treated as his current personal range.

4 deals

Pre-SeedSeedEarly Stage

#48Fred Ehrsam

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Paradigm

Protocol-level investments and new financial primitives. Open-source money, programmable economics, governance, mechanism design.

4 deals

#49Dan Robinson

General Partner & Head of Research

Paradigm

DeFi mechanism design, AMM theory, MEV research. Novel financial primitives and their mathematical foundations.

4 deals

No personal or venture-partner check range is published. Blockchain Capital's announced financing rounds and Tare's seed round are transaction sizes, not a reliable proxy for Lucas's individual authority.

#50Lucas Vogelsang

VENTURE PARTNER

Blockchain Capital

Lucas specializes in rebuilding credit and capital markets on shared blockchain infrastructure. His operating record points to tokenized funds, real-world assets, institutional DeFi, and end-to-end le

4 deals

SeedEarly StageProtocol Networks

#51Jonah Burian

Investor

Blockchain Capital

Jonah studies where value and power accrue as crypto infrastructure matures. He argues that open rails can unbundle closed payment networks; user-owning applications can compress infrastructure margin

No personal check range or deal authority is disclosed. Jonah is an Investor focused on research and new opportunities at a multi-stage firm; public work and academic research demonstrate thesis depth, not a standard individual ticket.

4 deals

ResearchSeedEarly Stage

#52Olaf Carlson-Wee

Founder & CEO

Polychain Capital

Crypto protocols are the native business model of the internet. Protocol-level investments, governance tokens, cross-chain infrastructure.

4 deals

#53Matt Huang

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Paradigm

Backs transformative crypto protocols and infrastructure. Crypto is the most important tech revolution since the internet.

4 deals

No verified personal check-size range is published. Blockchain Capital describes itself as a multi-stage crypto investor; Yuan's public work spans seed-stage selection through later protocol and company support, but no individual allocation authority should be inferred.

#54Jonah Burian

Investor

Blockchain Capital

4 deals

ResearchSeedEarly Stage

#55Yuan Han Li

Partner

Blockchain Capital

Yuan backs crypto-native founders with earned insight, behavioral resilience, learning velocity, and the ability to translate non-consensus ideas into enduring systems. His technical work spans modula

4 deals

#56Spencer Bogart

General Partner

Blockchain Capital

Broadly focused crypto investing. One of the longest-tenured crypto VCs.

4 deals

#57Charlie Noyes

General Partner

Paradigm

DeFi infrastructure, MEV, protocol economics. Intersection of market microstructure and blockchain design.

4 deals

#58Kinjal Shah

Partner

Blockchain Capital

Investment in early-stage blockchain companies and tokens.

4 deals

#59Robert Leshner

Founder, Compound & Robot Ventures

Robot Ventures

Founder-investor perspective at Robot Ventures. Deep expertise in DeFi, having built one of the most important DeFi protocols (Compound). Backs founders building foundational DeFi infrastructure.

4 deals

Pre-seedSeedSeries A

#60Brad Stephens

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Blockchain Capital

Co-founded Blockchain Capital alongside his twin brother Bart. Focuses on venture-stage blockchain companies with strong management teams and clear business models.

4 deals

#61Tarun Chitra

Managing Partner

Robot Ventures

Rigorous quantitative approach to crypto investing at Robot Ventures. Applies mathematical modeling and simulation to evaluate DeFi protocols and crypto systems.

4 deals

Pre-seedSeedSeries A

#62Niraj Pant

Partner

Polychain Capital

ZK proofs, privacy infrastructure, developer tooling. Privacy is a fundamental right and crypto's key unsolved problem.

4 deals

#63Kuleen Nimkar

Partner

Polychain Capital

DeFi protocols, token economics, governance design. Sustainable DeFi models.

4 deals

#64samczsun

Research Partner

Paradigm

Smart contract security, white hat hacking, DeFi security research.

4 deals

#65Aleks Larsen

Partner

Blockchain Capital

Investing across the crypto stack at Blockchain Capital, one of the oldest crypto-focused funds. Focuses on infrastructure and application layers of blockchain technology.

4 deals

No person-specific check size is publicly disclosed. Pantera's published venture strategy typically spans Seed through Series B and aims to lead or co-lead; Joey's own mandate is DeFi and infrastructure rather than a stated ticket size.

#66Joey Shin

Junior Partner

Pantera Capital

Joey treats blockchain as a permissionless, composable technology stack for programming value and human behavior—not merely a digital copy of traditional finance. He is looking for institutional DeFi

3 deals

SeedSeries AGrowth

#67Katie Haun

Founder & CEO

Haun Ventures

Crypto regulation, compliance, and institutional adoption. Former DOJ prosecutor.

3 deals

No reliable Mark-specific ticket range is public. Haun invests from seed through scale and announced $1 billion of new early- and later-stage capital in May 2026; the cited first-party pages do not state a standard check.

#68Mark Beylin

Principal

Haun Ventures

Mark combines smart-contract and token-incentive building experience with early-stage investing. Current evidence favors useful crypto businesses rather than hype, particularly institutional market in

3 deals

No reliable Mark-specific ticket range is public. Haun invests from seed through scale from two fund families and announced $1 billion of new early- and later-stage capital in May 2026; the firm does not publish a standard ticket on the cited first-party pages.

#69Mark Beylin

Principal

Haun Ventures

Mark combines a builder's understanding of smart contracts and token incentives with early-stage investing. Current evidence points to founders building useful crypto businesses rather than chasing ma

3 deals

Wintermute Ventures currently publishes flexible $500K–$5M+ global investments, primarily Seed and Series A, using proprietary capital and often leading or co-leading. This is a firm range—not Yoann's personal promise—and the firm also makes selective later-stage investments.

#70Yoann Turpin

Co-founder

Wintermute Ventures

Yoann brings high-frequency trading, hedge-fund and family-office experience to a proprietary-capital venture platform built around Wintermute's market infrastructure. The firm backs category-defining

3 deals

#71Paul Veradittakit

Managing Partner

Pantera Capital

Broadly focused crypto VC. One of the most prolific investors in the space.

3 deals

#72Franklin Bi

General Partner

Pantera Capital

Investing in blockchain infrastructure and tokens at Pantera Capital. Focuses on protocol-level investments with long-term value creation potential.

3 deals

#73Joey Krug

Co-Chief Investment Officer

Pantera Capital

DeFi, prediction markets, protocol design. Creator of Augur.

3 deals

No person-specific check size is publicly disclosed. Pantera says its venture strategy typically invests Seed through Series B and leads or co-leads; commercial directory estimates were not used.

#74Matt Gorham

Partner

Pantera Capital

Public evidence supports a Pantera-wide, not Matt-specific, mandate: multi-stage blockchain venture and token exposure with follow-on capital for companies that demonstrate product-market fit. Matt's

3 deals

#75Matt Stephenson

Partner

Pantera Capital

Applies rigorous economic theory and mechanism design to crypto investing. Focuses on projects where game theory and incentive alignment are core to the value proposition.

3 deals

#76Evgeny Gaevoy

Founder & CEO

Wintermute Ventures

Trading infrastructure, DeFi liquidity, and market microstructure. Wintermute is one of the largest crypto market makers.

3 deals

$1M-$100M+ (from $2B+ crypto funds — 5th fund raising in 2026)

#77Chris Dixon

General Partner, a16z crypto (Founder & Lead)

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)

The crypto conviction investor. Founded and leads a16z's crypto practice, which has deployed billions across five funds. Author of 'Read Write Own' (2024), arguing that blockchain enables a new era of

2 deals

#78Shan Aggarwal

VP Corporate Development

Coinbase Ventures

Leads Coinbase Ventures, one of the most prolific corporate crypto investors. Invests broadly across the crypto ecosystem to grow the overall market and bring more assets on-chain.

2 deals

Not disclosed and not inferable. Peyman is listed as a Research Partner, so founders should treat him as a domain expert and technical thesis contributor unless Hack VC confirms participation in a specific investment decision.

#79Peyman Momeni

Research Partner

Hack VC

Peyman treats confidentiality as market infrastructure rather than an abstract right. His research uses identity-based encryption and distributed decryption to prevent front-running with dramatically

2 deals

Technical ResearchProtocol DesignPre-Seed

#80Jesse Walden

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Variant Fund

Ownership economy. Users should own a stake in the networks they contribute to.

2 deals

#81Avichal Garg

Managing Partner & Co-Founder

Electric Capital

Developer ecosystems and data-driven investing. Publishes Electric Capital Developer Report.

2 deals

Variant does not publish a reliable personal check range. Elijah works at the earliest stages, but founders should confirm fund vehicle, allocation, ownership, lead/co-lead appetite, token/equity structure and reserves with the partnership.

#82Elijah Fox

Investment Partner

Variant Fund

Elijah backs technically ambitious founders building new mechanisms, markets and infrastructure. His work joins crypto market design with a widening AI thesis: mature financial systems need expressive

2 deals

No personal or standard ticket is published. Hack VC is an earliest-stage investor and its articles identify the firm as leading rounds at pre-seed, seed and Series A; announced round leadership does not reveal Rodney's individual check authority.

#83Kelvin Koh

Co-founder & Managing Partner

The Spartan Group

Spartan Group is a multi-strategy crypto fund based in Singapore, investing in DeFi, gaming, and infrastructure across Asia and globally. Known for advisory work and token launches.

2 deals

SeedSeries AStrategic

#84Kanav Kariya

Former President

Jump Crypto

Jump Crypto was the crypto arm of Jump Trading, one of the world's largest quantitative trading firms. Focused on building infrastructure, particularly cross-chain bridges and DeFi protocols.

2 deals

SeedSeries AStrategic

#85Rodney Yesep

Partner

Hack VC

Rodney backs technical infrastructure that removes adoption bottlenecks for high-value crypto use cases. His work favors modular, open AI stacks that solve data, compute and availability; stablecoin c

2 deals

Not applicable as a disclosed personal venture check range. Electric's current biography says Sanjay focuses on liquid crypto portfolio management, trading and DeFi strategies. The firm's public $1M–$15M+ venture range should not be attributed to his liquid-market role.

#86Sanjay Shah

Investor

Electric Capital

Sanjay's stated remit is liquid crypto portfolio management across trading and DeFi strategies. His combination of consulting, company-building and graduate technical/business training suggests an ope

2 deals

Liquid AssetsPortfolio ManagementTrading Strategies

#87Herbie Fu

Partner

Hack VC

Herbie invests at the intersection of crypto, AI and productive infrastructure. His GAIB thesis treats compute as a scarce commodity that can become an investable, yield-producing on-chain asset, fina

No personal check range is publicly disclosed. Hack VC says it partners at the earliest stages across crypto, AI and frontier technology, and the firm led GAIB's seed round; neither the round nor third-party ticket estimates establish Herbie's standard or unilateral check authority.

2 deals

Pre-SeedSeedEarliest Stage

#88Melody He

Co-founder & Managing Partner

The Spartan Group

Co-leads Spartan Group's investment and advisory practice. Focus on token design, go-to-market strategy, and connecting projects to the Asian crypto ecosystem.

2 deals

Electric Capital publishes a firm-level $1M–$15M+ range from pre-seed through Series A. Trevor's current page gives no personal check range, deal attribution or mandate detail beyond Investor, so the firm range must not be presented as his individual authority.

#89Trevor Oliver

Investor

Electric Capital

Trevor applies a long quantitative-investing background to Electric's engineer-led frontier-technology mandate. His prior roles across multi-strategy, retirement, institutional asset-management and in

2 deals

#90Spencer Noon

Co-Founder & General Partner

Variant Fund

Investing in the ownership economy at Variant Fund. Pioneer of on-chain data analysis for crypto investment decisions. Believes data-driven analysis is key to identifying the best crypto investments.

2 deals

#91Jason Yanowitz

Head of Galaxy Interactive

Galaxy Digital

Investing in the future of digital assets and blockchain infrastructure at Galaxy Digital. Also known for founding Blockworks, a leading crypto media company.

2 deals

#92Chris Ferraro

President & Chief Investment Officer

Galaxy Digital

Institutional-grade crypto investment across the full capital structure. Focuses on bridging traditional finance and digital assets.

2 deals

#93Will Nuelle

General Partner, Galaxy Ventures

Galaxy Digital

Invests in crypto infrastructure and DeFi protocols at Galaxy Digital. Focuses on foundational technology that enables the next wave of crypto applications.

2 deals

#94Alex Pack

Managing Partner

Hack VC

Infrastructure, DeFi, and AI x crypto. Previously co-led Dragonfly before starting Hack VC.

2 deals

#95Amy Wu

Former Head of Ventures

Solana Ventures

Former Head of Solana Ventures and FTX Ventures. Known for institutional crypto deals and ecosystem investing.

2 deals

#96Hoolie Tejwani

Head of Coinbase Ventures

Coinbase Ventures

Head of Coinbase Ventures, one of the most active corporate crypto investors globally. Coinbase Ventures takes a portfolio approach, investing across the entire crypto stack.

2 deals