Crypto and blockchain companies pulled in $292.35 million across ten disclosed funding deals between August 31 and September 5, 2026, according to data compiled from DeFiLlama’s crypto raises database, CryptoRank and company announcements. The week’s crypto VC funding activity leaned heavily toward one theme: building the plumbing that connects digital dollars to the traditional banking system. Miami-based remittance platform Félix pulled off the biggest raise of the period, while a coalition of seven U.S. banks backed a tokenized deposit network called Cari.
Key takeaways
- Ten crypto and blockchain companies disclosed $292.35 million in financing between August 31 and September 5, 2026.
- Félix secured $200 million, combining $87 million in equity led by Andreessen Horowitz with a $113 million credit facility from General Catalyst.
- Cari raised $32.5 million entirely from seven U.S. banks to build its tokenized commercial bank deposit network.
- OpenReserve landed a $25 million seed round and preliminary conditional approval for a U.S. bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
- Payments and banking infrastructure accounted for roughly 93%, or $270.5 million, of all disclosed financing for the week.
Overview of recent crypto and blockchain funding
Payments rails and regulated banking infrastructure absorbed nearly all of the money that changed hands last week. That concentration says something about where institutional capital is actually flowing right now, even as headlines tend to focus on token prices.
Payments and banking infrastructure alone accounted for $270.5 million, or close to 93% of the disclosed crypto VC funding total. The figure includes Félix’s $113 million credit facility, so the weekly sum reflects disclosed financing broadly rather than pure venture equity. Analysts tracking the total also excluded acquisitions and unconfirmed reports, including a reported $1 billion round tied to Polymarket, keeping the count limited to verified equity and debt deals.
Sector concentration tells its own story
Why does this matter? When investors funnel nearly all their capital into payment rails, remittances and bank-adjacent infrastructure, it signals that the industry’s most active dealmaking right now sits closer to fintech than to speculative token projects. Stablecoin payments and tokenized bank deposits emerged as the clearest throughlines of the week, tying together four of the largest rounds.
Félix’s $200 million bet on stablecoin remittances
Félix secured $200 million in Series C financing to grow its WhatsApp-based financial platform built for Latino customers in the United States. The package split into an $87 million equity investment led by Andreessen Horowitz, with QED Investors, Castle Island Ventures, Switch Ventures, Contour Venture Partners and Endeavor Catalyst also participating.
General Catalyst’s Customer Value Fund separately committed a $113 million credit facility, a structure that blends venture equity with debt financing rather than representing a straightforward equity round. That distinction matters for anyone trying to size up how much fresh venture capital actually entered the market versus how much came in the form of borrowed capital to fund transaction volume.
USDC on Stellar and what comes next
Félix relies on USDC settled on the Stellar network to help move money across borders, and it partners with Bitso to convert between digital assets and local currencies. The company says it has processed more than $8 billion in transactions across 11 Latin American markets, serving more than six million people. Beyond remittances, Félix plans to push into savings, lending and AI-supported financial services.
The new financing pushed Félix’s total capital raised to nearly $300 million. The company did not disclose its current valuation, though it noted the figure has tripled since its $75 million Series B in 2025 — a gap that leaves outside observers guessing at exactly how the market is pricing the business today.
Cari raises $32.5 million from U.S. banks for tokenized deposits
Cari, based in Washington, D.C., raised $32.5 million in the first tranche of its initial external funding round, with every dollar coming from banking institutions rather than traditional venture funds. First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, M&T Bank, Old National Bank, SouthState Bank and Glacier Bank all participated.
That all-bank investor list is unusual for a crypto-adjacent startup, and it reflects the specific problem Cari is trying to solve: letting chartered institutions issue and transfer tokenized bank deposits without ceding control to outside stablecoin issuers.
Bank-governed and permissioned by design
Cari’s network is permissioned and governed by participating banks, anchored to Ethereum through a Layer 2 structure, while each bank stays responsible for issuing and managing its own deposits. Unlike stablecoins backed by separate reserve assets, the tokenized deposits on Cari’s network represent direct liabilities of the banks that issue them — a structural difference that keeps the assets closer to conventional deposit insurance frameworks than to typical stablecoin models.
The company said the new capital will fund product development, bank onboarding and network integration. Cari has already signed 30 banks and is in discussions with roughly 40 more, according to its announcement, suggesting the tokenized deposit model is gaining traction specifically among regional and community lenders looking for programmable payment rails without handing deposits to nonbank issuers.
OpenReserve and Diameter Pay push regulated banking infrastructure
Two smaller but strategically notable rounds rounded out the week’s regulated finance push. OpenReserve announced a $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto, with Jump Crypto, Acrew Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Quona Capital, AAF Management and Zero Knowledge also joining.
The raise landed alongside preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a US crypto banking charter — a milestone that puts OpenReserve on a path toward becoming a full-service national bank built around continuous settlement. The company still needs to secure Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage, accumulate a minimum of $210 million through initial paid-in capital, and satisfy the OCC’s preopening requirements before it can begin operating. The proposed Utah-based bank aims to offer deposits, lending, digital asset custody, tokenized deposits and stablecoin payment services, with infrastructure designed to settle transactions outside the hours of conventional U.S. payment systems.
Diameter Pay, based in Jersey City, raised $10 million in a Series A co-led by CMT Digital and Lightspeed Faction, with SixThirty Ventures, the Stellar Development Foundation, Onigiri Capital, Tech Council Ventures and BitRock Capital also joining. Founder and CEO David Lighton told The Block the round was bootstrapped before this raise, structured entirely as equity, and closed after a fundraising process that ran from April to July. He declined to share the company’s post-money valuation.
Diameter Pay gives banks, fintechs and digital asset exchanges access to U.S. dollar virtual accounts, domestic and international payment rails, and stablecoin on- and off-ramps through an API, working with sponsor banks including Portage Bank and SSB Bank. The company said it has processed more than $10 billion in payment volume so far this year, working with clients across financial hubs including Switzerland and Singapore. Lighton said the plan is to use the fresh capital to expand banking connections, deepen stablecoin and foreign exchange infrastructure, and keep investing in compliance tooling for cross-border dollar movement. Diameter Pay currently employs 20 people across the U.S., Argentina, Poland and Nigeria, and is hiring a chief technology officer and chief commercial officer.
Smaller rounds target DeFi risk, AI infrastructure and prediction markets
Below the week’s headline deals, several smaller rounds funded a mix of DeFi risk tools, AI infrastructure and prediction-market platforms. Firelight raised an $8 million seed round led by gumi Cryptos Capital, with Maven 11, Metalayer Ventures, Joint Effects and Tribe Capital also participating; the protocol uses staked digital assets to cover smart contract exploits and other DeFi risks. MemeBitcoin secured an $8 million strategic round from Gemhead Capital, Archer Capital, M2M Capital and Mayer Venture to fund its public launch and exchange listing preparations.
GAEA raised $3.6 million in strategic financing from MH Venture, CGV FOF, K24 Ventures and M2M Capital to build decentralized AI infrastructure that links users, data, computing resources and AI agents. The Colombian fintech platform Plenti successfully closed a $3 million seed funding round led by Tether, with Verda Ventures also participating, to expand its multicurrency accounts and investment platform into Peru and Bolivia.
Two even smaller deals rounded out the week. ParlayX raised $1.25 million in a pre-seed round led by Dreamcraft Ventures to build trading and execution tools designed for institutional participants in prediction markets. The Ethereum-based DeFi protocol Polaris secured a $1 million angel investment backed by contributors tied to the Ethereum Foundation, Fusion, Altitude, Liquity and LI.FI, developing pETH, a yield-bearing collateral asset meant to support decentralized stablecoins, synthetic assets and tokenized commodities.
Why this week’s numbers matter
Taken together, the week’s deals reinforce a pattern that’s been building across crypto VC funding for months: capital is chasing companies that touch regulated money movement rather than purely speculative token infrastructure. Banks investing directly in Cari, a16z crypto backing a company seeking an actual national bank charter, and Andreessen Horowitz doubling down on stablecoin-powered remittances all point the same direction. For founders, that means the clearest path to a large check right now runs through compliance, banking partnerships and dollar settlement rails rather than pure protocol plays. For regulators and traditional banks, it means the tokenization of deposits and stablecoin payment rails is no longer a hypothetical — it’s already attracting real balance-sheet commitments from mid-size regional lenders.
FAQ
What was the total amount of crypto funding disclosed recently and over what period?
Ten crypto and blockchain companies disclosed $292.35 million across 10 funding deals between August 31 and September 5, 2026.
Who led Félix’s $200 million funding and what will the company focus on next?
Andreessen Horowitz led the $87 million equity portion of Félix’s $200 million financing, which also included a $113 million credit facility from General Catalyst. Félix plans to expand from remittances into savings, lending and AI-supported financial services.
How is Cari’s tokenized deposit network structured and who invested?
Cari’s network is a permissioned Layer 2 system governed by participating banks, allowing chartered institutions to issue tokenized commercial bank deposits that represent their own liabilities. It raised $32.5 million entirely from seven U.S. banks, including First Horizon Bank, Huntington Bank and KeyBank.
What progress has OpenReserve made toward becoming a U.S. regulated bank?
OpenReserve announced a $25 million seed round and received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. It must still raise at least $210 million in additional capital, secure FDIC coverage and meet OCC preopening requirements before it can begin banking operations.
Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.
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