Unveiling the Flow of $11.2 Billion in Funding Over Six Months: The Crypto Industry's Most Valuable Asset Is Shifting f…

If you want to raise institutional capital, get a license first.

By: Xiao Bing

Dubai crypto lawyer Irina Heaver and her team at NeosLegal did something simple yet powerful: they went through every publicly disclosed crypto industry funding round in the first half of 2026, totaling 377 deals, with a total amount of approximately $11.2 billion.

The conclusion is just one sentence: Every funding round with a disclosed amount flowed into businesses that require regulatory licenses to operate.

The top three sectors are: Payments & Stablecoins at $3.7 billion, Prediction Markets at $2 billion, and Exchanges & Trading Platforms at $1.7 billion. These three fields share a common characteristic: legal operation requires a license in any major jurisdiction.

The valuation logic of institutional capital for the crypto industry has shifted from "what the code can do" to "do you have a license."

Who Is Writing the Checks

Let's first look at who is paying the bill.

Kalshi completed a $1 billion funding round in May, with investors including Sequoia, Morgan Stanley, Ark Invest, and a16z. Polymarket secured $600 million, led by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. In the prediction market sector alone, 34 funding rounds were completed within half a year.