Author: Nianqing

Recently, Du Jun, co-founder of ABCDE and ABCDE Capital, officially announced that ABCDE Capital has ceased new project investments and halted its second fundraise, while unveiling a new incubator product called Vernal. Over the past year, ABCDE made 19 investment moves—not particularly conservative despite ample capital—yet still could not withstand the current lethargic crypto market.

Since the FUD VC revolution, Crypto VCs have hit pause under hellish conditions—some choosing to stop investing entirely, retaining only core staff for post-investment services, while others are pivoting toward secondary market investments, project building, incubation, and crypto marketing.

Compared to their Western counterparts, Asian VCs appear more cautious. One month ago, Lao Bai, partner at ABCDE’s investment research team, raised a question: Why are we in Asia going cold while Western peers keep firing? What drives their willingness to pull the trigger during this valuation contraction phase? He speculated that differences may stem from divergent exit cycles, investment decision-making processes, and ideological distinctions—Asian VCs prioritize ROI, whereas their Western peers lean toward idealism and long-termism.

Additionally, according to investor data from RootData platform, most Chinese-speaking region VCs adopted a more conservative strategy over the past year, making fewer than 10 investments. That said, top-tier funds such as Animoca Brands, OKX Ventures, HashKey Capital, SNZ Holding, Waterdrip Capital, Mask Network, Nomad Capital, NGC Ventures continue high-frequency trading with over 20 investments in the last year. Meanwhile, IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, SevenX Ventures, LongHash Ventures, PAKA—all made more than 10 investments in the past year—have significantly reduced activity compared to the previous cycle.

This article profiles the current status of major Chinese-speaking VCs and those founded by Chinese entrepreneurs with low investment volume over the past year.

(Note: The above data is based on publicly disclosed investments and does not exclude potential undisclosed internal operations or investments.)

Continue Capital

Pima, a veteran figure in the crypto community and founder of Continue Capital, made zero investments in the past year. Their most recent deal was in March of last year—a participation in io.net’s Series A round. Pima, a seasoned crypto investor since 2013, has backed multiple prominent blockchain projects. Currently, both co-founders and Continue Capital itself are effectively inactive—no official blog updates or Twitter engagement. The last public update about Continue Capital dates back to October of last year, when co-founder Lin Xiahong reportedly suffered a theft of $35 million in assets. Lin responded on X: “Oops, accidentally exposed I haven’t fully retired—ended up doing charity work and trending online.”

OP Crypto / Inception Capital

After rebranding from OP Crypto to Inception Capital early last year, the fund successfully raised $30 million for its first fund. Within six months post-fundraising, it executed 16 deals, with the final investment occurring in August of last year. However, Inception Capital has made only six investments in the past year.

Mid-2024, David Gan, founder and general partner of Inception Capital, went missing for several months. Limited partners voted to initiate a controlled wind-down, suspending further drawdowns from the remaining 25% of Ventures Fund I capital. By late June, Gan reappeared, agreeing to relinquish control over multi-sig wallets and allowing LPs to exit.

Following this incident, Inception Capital effectively froze operations, with multiple executives departing. Calvin Du, Chief Operating Officer, Research Head, Platform Lead, and investor at Inception Capital, co-founded a new specialized RWA-focused fund, tmr Ventures, in 2025.

LD Capital

LD Capital made only eight investments in the past year, with the latest in September of last year—marked by a significant drop in investment frequency. The firm also operates secondary market investment and trading funds, including Beco Fund, FoF, hedge funds, and Meta Fund. In 2023, LD Capital launched Cycle Ventures, an early-stage fund focused on infrastructure, AI, and DApps.

Founder Yili Hua attributed the decline in Web3 investing to shifting vesting rules, low investment success rates, and the “triangle dilemma” where investors cannot simultaneously achieve great projects, low valuations, and large funding rounds. He also warned that many investors end up securing only fractional allocations—exposing them not only to financial losses but also reputational risks.

Bixin Ventures

Founded by Zixing, a veteran figure in the Chinese crypto scene, Bixin Ventures made only five investments in the past year, with the most recent in January of this year—significantly fewer than in 2024. Bixin Ventures is the investment arm of Bixin Group, established in 2014 and one of Asia’s largest cryptocurrency wallet providers, dedicated to offering users tools for storing and managing blockchain assets. The fund’s social media remains actively managed, with team members consistently engaging online.

Zixing recently vented on social media: “Spending like a fool, this pretty much sums up the fate of today’s crypto VCs.” “People misunderstand VCs—they’re actually the biggest suckers in the crypto world. LPs are the most unfortunate ones. All profits go to exchanges, projects, and KOLs—all paid by VCs.”

LK Venture

Founded by Wang Feng, founder of Mars Finance, LK Venture invests in blockchain technology and application projects. Originally known as Consensus Lab, the fund made only two investments in the past year, with the latest in August of last year. Despite halting primary investments, both partners Wang Feng and Leo Deng remain active on social media.

Wang Feng also founded the NFT marketplace Element and crypto media outlet MarsBit News. Recently, he has been closely monitoring emerging technologies beyond crypto, including AI and robotics. In his latest post, he stated: “Bitcoin, Ethereum, and SOL represent our optimal crypto asset portfolio. We’re still betting on Bitcoin—we’ll keep accumulating. We also monitor XRP and SUI. We won’t rule out adopting a Bitcoin-denominated model for company management.”

Mint Ventures

Mint Ventures has made no primary market investments in the past year, with its last deal in November 2022. The firm has shifted focus toward research and secondary market activities. Its social platforms and podcast 「WEB3 Mint To Be」remain regularly updated.

Youbi Capital

Youbi Capital made only three investments in the past year, with the most recent in November of last year—marking a sharp decline since 2022. The fund’s official social platforms continue regular post-investment service operations. Chen Li, a pioneer Bitcoin miner in China, holds a PhD in chemistry and previously worked as a scientist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, where he received awards for developing antibody drugs. He entered Bitcoin mining in 2015 through a university roommate and co-founded Youbi Capital in 2017.

EVG

Everest Ventures Group (EVG) made only seven investments in the past year, with the latest in November of last year—clearly down from the previous year. However, EVG is technically an operating group with broad scope: a global team of 300 people has built and launched diverse product portfolios across various use cases, including the digital asset management platform Aspen Digital, and brands in SocialFi, GameFi, and fintech such as DeFi product Mugen Interactive, crypto social investment platform Kikitrade, and LiveArt.

Fundamental Labs

Fundamental Labs made just one investment in the past year, in July of last year. Founder Raymond Yuan brings extensive venture experience across semiconductors, TMT, and AI, with a proven track record. He transitioned into crypto in 2016, founding CTH Group, whose three core businesses include Atlas (blockchain infrastructure-as-a-service), Fundamental Labs (crypto risk investment), and IDEG (digital asset management). In 2023, Yuan also launched WSPN, a global digital payments company, and introduced the USD-pegged stablecoin WUSD.

DeFiance Capital

DeFiance Capital made only one investment in the past year, in May of last year—significantly reduced activity. The most recent was the founder’s own angel investment in Optimum, a MIT-Harvard team. Despite reduced deal flow, DeFiance Capital remains highly active on social media, hiring earlier this year. Founder Arthur Cheong, a well-known KOL, continues to publish insights. Recently, he stated that collusion between projects and market makers, coupled with CEX inaction, is the primary reason the current market remains uninvestable.

Matrixport Ventures

Matrixport Ventures made only two investments in the past year, with the most recent in December of last year. It invested eight times in 2024. Matrixport Ventures is the venture arm of Matrixport, Asia’s largest crypto financial services platform. Founded by Wu Jihan, Matrixport offers products including Cactus Custody, spot OTC trading, fixed income, structured products, lending, and asset management.

Basics Capital

Basics Capital made only four investments in the past year, with the latest in December of last year—marked by a clear reduction compared to 2024.

7 O'Clock Capital

7 O'Clock Capital made zero investments in the past year, with the last in April of last year. Its social platforms remain operational, but investment research and other functions are largely stagnant.

Old Fashion Research

Old Fashion Research made only one investment in the past year, in September of last year. OFR is a multi-strategy blockchain fund founded in July 2021 by former Binance executives and investment team members. Several partners left the firm early last year.

Puzzle Ventures

Puzzle Ventures made only three investments in the past year, with the most recent in December of last year. Founder Qi Wang is also co-founder and COO of decentralized exchange DODO, and co-founder and GP of secondary market liquidity fund Metrics Ventures. Both Puzzle Ventures’ official channels and the founder’s social media are currently inactive.

Redline DAO

Redline DAO made only one investment in the past year, in August of last year. Early 2024, Redline DAO announced upgrading to Redline Labs, transitioning from pure investment to full-scale project incubation. Future research will focus on monitoring the development and ecosystem growth of blockchains like BTC and Solana. Founder and Managing Partner Kris Li is a successful trader with deep interest in secondary markets.

Beyond the aforementioned native crypto funds, several Chinese-speaking regional generalist VCs have also drastically reduced their crypto-related investments

• Zonff Partners made only two investments in the past year, with the most recent in November;


• Dan Hua Capital (DHVC) made zero investments in the past year, with the last in June of last year;


• Sky9 Capital made only five investments in the past year, with the most recent in August of last year; the partner responsible for crypto investments, Niu Fengxuan, departed in April of last year;


• Initiate Capital made only two investments in the past year, with the most recent in November of last year.