Crypto Funding Winter: Why Are VCs Focusing on Stablecoin Payments?

Editor | Wu Blockchain

TL;DR

• Overall funding has cooled: In Q1 2026, crypto VC funding fell by approximately 50% quarter-on-quarter, with capital increasingly concentrated in mature companies that already have customers, revenue, and meaningful transaction volume.

• Stablecoin payments are bucking the trend: Rain, OpenFX, RedotPay, Mesh, Conduit, and other companies have continued to raise sizable rounds across card issuance, cross-border payments, foreign exchange liquidity, wallets, banking connectivity, and settlement.

• VCs are focusing on infrastructure: Stablecoins enable 24/7 cross-border settlement, while infrastructure providers can generate revenue through transaction fees, foreign exchange spreads, card services, and APIs.

• The momentum should not be overstated: Onchain stablecoin volume is not equivalent to real-world payment volume, and funding remains concentrated among a small number of leading companies. Compliance, fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, local banking relationships, and service commoditization remain key challenges.

• Where capital may go next: Cross-border B2B payments, stablecoin-linked cards, bank-to-stablecoin connectivity, multi-chain payment orchestration, and AI agent payments could continue to attract investment.