📊 Summary of Funded Projects (May 19, 2026 – May 25, 2026)
- Duration
- In Progress
- Task
- Supported Chains
- Category
Table of Contents
We have summarized the projects that announced fundraising between May 19, 2026, and May 25, 2026.
This article is also distributed on Candy Drops' X account, so please be sure to follow us on X as well!
Project List
@SizeProp | Pre-seed (Undisclosed) | May 19, 2026
@TwentyOneCap | $679M (Secondary Transfer) | May 20, 2026
@Kalshi | $200M (Series F Extension) | May 20, 2026
@variational_io | $50M (Series A) | May 20, 2026
@Cometh | M&A — Acquired by @KaikoData | May 20, 2026
@TokenOps_xyz | M&A (Undisclosed Acquirer) | May 20, 2026
@TownSquarexyz | $16.25M (Pre-Series A) | May 21, 2026
@cyclesmoney | $6.4M (Seed) | May 21, 2026
@jia_DeFi | $3M (Seed) | May 21, 2026
K25.ai| $2M (Pre-A / Strategic Investment) | May 21, 2026
@decentxyz | M&A — Acquired by @moonpay | May 21, 2026
@popdex_ | $30M (Seed) | May 22, 2026
@FOUNDATIONdvcs | $6.4M (Strategic Investment) | May 22, 2026
@squidrouter | $6M (Strategic Investment) | May 22, 2026
@jpyc_official | $19.5M (Series B 3rd close) | May 23, 2026
SizeProp（@SizeProp）
SizeProp is a startup building infrastructure for crypto-native prop trading firms. Since late 2025, it has provided a total of over $50M in prop capital to more than 3,500 traders across 150+ countries. It is fully integrated with Hyperliquid and Trade.xyz, enabling 24/7 trading of perpetual futures for commodities, equities, and FX. This round was led by Igloo Inc., the operator of Pudgy Penguins, and was executed via a SAFE format.
💸 Amount Raised：Pre-seed (Undisclosed amount, SAFE)
👥 Investors：@IglooInc
📅 Announcement Date：May 19, 2026
Twenty One Capital
Twenty One Capital is a NYSE-listed (XXI) Bitcoin treasury company. On May 20, 2026, Tether acquired approximately a 26% stake (valued at $679M) held by SoftBank, and the director dispatched by SoftBank stepped down. Tether is preparing to integrate XXI with two related companies, strengthening its control through this transaction. Existing shareholders will gain exposure to Bitcoin via the equity market.
💸 Amount Raised：$679M (Secondary Transfer — Tether acquired SoftBank's stake)
👥 Acquirer：@Tether_to
📅 Announcement Date：May 20, 2026
Kalshi（@Kalshi）
Kalshi is a US regulated prediction market exchange. It offers financial markets where users can bet on the outcomes of real-world events such as sports, politics, elections, and award ceremonies. Its annualized revenue exceeds $1.5B, and it recorded a trading volume of $11.3B in May alone. This extension round brings the cumulative Series F total to over $1.2B, maintaining the same $22B valuation as the $1B round led by Coatue earlier this month.
💸 Amount Raised：$200M (Series F Extension / $22B Valuation)
👥 Investors：@BaillieGifford, Layer Global
📅 Announcement Date：May 20, 2026
Variational（@variational_io）
Variational is a decentralized derivatives protocol operating on Arbitrum. It aggregates liquidity from TradFi dealers and crypto exchanges to provide a P2P perpetual futures platform. This round focuses on RWA perpetuals linked to real-world assets (crude oil, silver, copper, gold), with plans to deploy over 100 on-chain perpetual contracts at launch. Including this Series A, its cumulative funding has reached over $60M.
💸 Amount Raised：$50M (Series A)
👥 Investors：@dragonfly_xyz, @BainCapCrypto, @cbventures
📅 Announcement Date：May 20, 2026
Cometh（@Cometh）
Cometh is a European-based DeFi infrastructure company providing smart contract development and NFT marketplace tools. It holds a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license under the EU's MiCA regulation. It was acquired by crypto market data giant Kaiko, marking Kaiko's fourth M&A transaction. The acquisition will be used to expand MiCA-compliant on-chain data infrastructure. Founded in Paris in 2021, its cumulative funding stands at $9.7M.
💸 Funding：M&A — Acquired by @KaikoData (Amount undisclosed)
📅 Announcement Date：May 20, 2026
TokenOps（@TokenOps_xyz）
TokenOps is a London-based token lifecycle management platform. It provides cross-chain operation and self-custody tools. Founded in 2022, it previously raised a seed round from Outlier Ventures in February 2023. CryptoRank recorded an M&A transaction dated May 20, 2026, but details regarding the acquirer and amount remain undisclosed.
💸 Funding：M&A (Acquirer & Amount Undisclosed)
📅 Announcement Date：May 20, 2026
TownSquare（@TownSquarexyz）
TownSquare is a cross-chain DeFi money market and institutional yield infrastructure primarily focusing on Monad, while also supporting Ethereum and BNB Chain. With this funding, it will drive the launch of the USD1 stablecoin and provide stable yields through the tokenization of real-world assets. The participation of Trump-affiliated World Liberty Financial attracted significant attention, followed by the announcement of a $100M USD1 liquidity initiative.
💸 Amount Raised：$16.25M (Pre-Series A)
👥 Investors：@worldlibertyfi, @okx_ventures, @AnimocaVentures, @ambergroup_io, @Aptos, @BixinVentures, @ArcaneGrp, @Auros_global, @Moca_Network
📅 Announcement Date：May 21, 2026
Cycles（@cyclesmoney）
Cycles is a private clearing network for on-chain finance, spun out from Informal Systems. Led by Cosmos co-founder Ethan Buchman, it reduces counterparty risk and capital requirements through multilateral clearing, compressing required liquidity. Its first product, "Cycles Prime," targets institutional OTC netting, with Lynq and FalconX joining as anchor partners. Its cumulative funding has reached $8.7M.
💸 Amount Raised：$6.4M (Seed)
👥 Investors：@blockchangevc, @cbventures, @CompoundVC, @primitivecrypto
📅 Announcement Date：May 21, 2026
Jia（@jia_DeFi）
Jia is a financial OS for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. It supplies credit to SMEs in Southeast Asia through on-chain lending pools operating on Base, Stellar, Arbitrum, Celo, and Polygon. Its proprietary Ossicone AI credit model liquidates unpaid invoices within 24 hours. It has financed over 15,000 invoices in the Philippines, growing its monthly issuance of $1M at a MoM rate of 10%. Cumulative funding stands at $7.3M.
💸 Amount Raised：$3M (Seed)
👥 Investors：@cbventures, @StellarOrg, @A100xVentures, @TCG_co, @HashedEM
📅 Announcement Date：May 21, 2026
K25.ai
K25.ai is an APAC-focused AI-native live streaming and Watch-to-Predict prediction market led by former OKX COO Andy Cheung. It integrates AI, live streaming, creator monetization, and prediction markets across sports, e-sports, entertainment, and culture. The co-founder has joined the board of directors of NIVF, with an eye toward listing via a reverse merger (RTO). The round consists of an initial $2M with an expansion option of up to $10M.
💸 Amount Raised：$2M (Pre-A / Strategic Investment, $100M Valuation, with expansion option up to $10M)
👥 Investors：@NewGenIVF（Nasdaq: NIVF）
📅 Announcement Date：May 21, 2026
Decent（@decentxyz）
Decent provides cross-chain transaction infrastructure spanning over 200 chains. Its flagship product, "The Box," enables one-click transactions with any token, recording over $1B in cumulative volume and 99.5% uptime. MoonPay announced its acquisition on May 21, 2026, for a high eight-figure sum. Decent's routing and liquidity aggregation will be integrated into MoonPay's new institutional execution API, "MoonPay Trade," combining fiat rails, compliance, and cross-chain DeFi for banks and asset managers. This marks MoonPay's fourth M&A in 2026.
💸 Funding：M&A — Acquired by @moonpay (High eight-figure / Details undisclosed)
📅 Announcement Date：May 21, 2026
PopDEX（@popdex_）
PopDEX is a trader-centric perpetual decentralized exchange (perp DEX). It distinguishes itself from existing perp DEXs by adopting tokenomics that return platform revenue to active traders rather than passive holders. It is currently in an invite-only testing phase, and the raised funds will be allocated to liquidity provisioning, security audits, team expansion, and global rollout.
💸 Amount Raised：$30M (Seed)
👥 Investors：@ForesightVen
📅 Announcement Date：May 22, 2026
Foundation Devices（@FOUNDATIONdvcs）
Foundation Devices is a manufacturer of Bitcoin hardware wallets. This round announced its expansion into AI agent authorization, FIDO security keys, multi-factor authentication, and digital identity domains. Its flagship device, "Passport Prime," integrates a Bitcoin wallet, 2FA storage, a secret vault, and 50GB of encrypted storage. Shipping began in March, and this round transitions the product into General Availability (GA). Cumulative funding has reached $16.5M.
💸 Amount Raised：$6.4M (Strategic Investment)
👥 Investors：Fulgur Ventures, @arche_capital
📅 Announcement Date：May 22, 2026
Squid（@squidrouter）
Squid is a cross-chain routing and execution layer. Utilizing its proprietary "Squid Intents," market makers fill cross-chain orders and settle via a TEE (Trusted Execution Environment), supporting over 100 networks without the need to deploy smart contracts. Since January 2023, it has processed over $6B in cumulative volume, 4M+ transactions, and over 1 million users. The new funds will be used to improve consumer-facing cross-chain UX. Cumulative funding stands at $13.5M.
💸 Amount Raised：$6M (Strategic Investment)
👥 Investors：@NorthIslandVC, @Ripple, @Dialectic_Group, @borderless_cap, @SceniusCapital, @axelar, @Ledger, @Polymer_Labs, @EnsoBuild, @joinpeanut
📅 Announcement Date：May 22, 2026
🔗 https://www.squidrouter.com/
JPYC（@jpyc_official）
JPYC is Japan's first regulated JPY-pegged stablecoin issuer. The announcement on May 23 covers the 3rd close of its Series B round. The cumulative Series B total reached approximately ¥5 billion (¥1.78B in Feb + ¥2.8B in Apr + May extension), equivalent to roughly $33M USD. New investors include the Life Design Fund and Meiji Yasuda Life's Future Co-Creation Fund. The funds will be used for system enhancement, AI agent-to-agent (M2M) payment compatibility, and expansion across Ethereum/Polygon. Within 7 months of launching, it recorded over ¥2.5 billion in issuance and ¥35 billion in trading volume.
💸 Amount Raised：$19.5M (Series B 3rd close)
👥 Investors：Life Design Fund, IHD Strategy Fund, Awagin Capital, @meijiyasuda_pr（Future Co-Creation Fund）
📅 Announcement Date：May 23, 2026
A total of 15 project updates were announced this week. The total amount of new funding raised reached approximately $340 million (approx. 53 billion yen). Combined with consecutive massive secondary transactions and large-scale M&As totaling around $680 million, it has been a week marked by major capital movements.
The primary market trends can be categorized into the following three pillars:
- The Surge of Prediction Markets and Next-Gen DeFi：Kalshi (@Kalshi), the largest prediction market in the US which raised $1 billion earlier this month, secured an additional $200 million as a Series F extension, demonstrating an overwhelming presence. Furthermore, Variational (@variational_io), which provides RWA (real-world asset) perpetuals linked to crude oil, gold, etc., raised $50 million, and PopDEX (@popdex_), which pledges revenue sharing to traders, raised $30 million. Large-scale investments into advanced financial products are continuing.
- A Chain of M&As Driven by Infrastructure Consolidation：Following last week's momentum, acquisitions of promising infrastructure by existing giants were highly visible. Payment giant MoonPay acquired cross-chain infrastructure Decent (@decentxyz) for a high eight-figure sum, while data provider Kaiko absorbed the MiCA-compliant Cometh (@Cometh). The movement to bring "core foundations"—such as compliance and execution layers—in-house is accelerating.
- Penetration into the Real Economy & Intersection of TradFi × Crypto：Tether acquired a stake in Bitcoin treasury company (Twenty One Capital) from SoftBank for approximately $680 million, further solidifying its dominance within the industry. Additionally, JPYC (@jpyc_official), a Japanese stablecoin issuer, raised an additional $19.5 million from Meiji Yasuda Life and others, while Jia (@jia_DeFi) provides credit to SMEs in emerging markets. These real-demand-driven developments show crypto increasingly linking with traditional finance (TradFi) and the real economy.
💡 Noteworthy Movements & Airdrop Perspectives Among the projects on this week's list, PopDEX and TownSquare (@TownSquarexyz) are particularly worth watching. PopDEX, which is in an invite-only testing phase and explicitly states rewards for active traders, and TownSquare ($16.25M raised), which has an upcoming USD1 stablecoin liquidity program, offer strong anticipation for early participant incentives or airdrops. Following them early is highly recommended.
Disclaimer
- ・This article is created for informational purposes only and should not be used to solicit the sale, purchase, or underwriting of cryptocurrencies, securities, or other financial products, nor should it be considered an invitation to engage in such transactions, or constitute financial or investment advice.
- ・The information and opinions in this article are obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not guarantee their accuracy, completeness, suitability, timeliness, or truthfulness.
- ・We, the authors, and all related parties are not responsible for any damage or loss caused by or related to the information published in this article. Cryptocurrencies involve hacking and other risks, so please conduct thorough research before using them.
Supervised by
Shingo Arai
CEO, Rokubunnoni Inc.
After completing a Master's degree in Management Engineering at Tokyo University of Science in 2013, Shingo Arai worked as an engineer, data scientist, and data analyst at multiple companies in the web, app, and advertising industries. He entered the cryptocurrency and blockchain space around 2017, founded Rokubunnoni Inc. in January 2018, and launched Crypto Times — a blockchain-focused media outlet — in February 2018. With approximately 9 years in the industry, his expertise spans DeFi, L1/L2 protocols, tokenomics, ZKP, and domestic/international regulatory trends. He actively conducts on-chain asset management and research. He has authored and supervised hundreds of articles, spoken at conferences in Japan and abroad, served as a DeFi investment seminar instructor, and operated KOL ambassador programs.
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