Written by Cointelegraph, Staff Writer. Reviewed by Bryan O'Shea, Staff Editor. Here’s what happened in crypto today
Need to know what happened in crypto today? Here is the latest news on daily trends and events impacting Bitcoin price, blockchain, DeFi, NFTs, Web3 and crypto regulation.
Today in crypto, venture capital (VC) funding in the crypto industry fell to $659 million in April as dealmaking slowed across the sector, data shows the tokenized real-world asset market has increased by more than 420% since the start of 2025, and a Bitso report shows shifting user behavior as dollar-linked stablecoins gain traction for everyday financial use across Latin America’s inflation-hit economies.
Crypto VC funding plunges to $659 million in April, hits near two-year low
Crypto VC funding plunged to a near two-year low in April as investors pulled back from crypto start-ups and early-stage companies.
Crypto VC funding fell to $659 million across 63 funding rounds in April, down 74% from the $2.6 billion seen across 84 rounds in March, according to Cryptorank data. This brings the total year-to-date investments to $5.64 billion so far in 2026.
The April total was the lowest monthly fundraising sum since July 2024, when crypto projects raised $622 million across 132 rounds.
The drop suggests venture investors became more selective as crypto markets remained under pressure following months of weaker liquidity and risk appetite.
Monthly VC funding has been declining since October 2025, when crypto projects raised $3.84 billion across 127 funding rounds. The global crypto market cap has since fallen by 37%, according to CoinGlass data.
Crypto fundraising, US dollars, three-year chart. Source: Cryptorank
Decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols attracted the most deal activity in April, with 12 funding rounds, according to CryptoRank. Blockchain services and artificial intelligence-linked crypto projects followed with eight rounds each.
Tokenized RWA market grows 420% since 2025 on regulatory clarity, access
The size of the tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market has increased by more than 420% since the start of 2025, as investors were treated to easier market access and regulatory clarity, according to analysts.
The RWA market cap was about $5.8 billion on Jan. 1, 2025, but has since risen to more than $30.2 billion as of Wednesday, according to analytics platform RWA.xyz. Tokenized US Treasurys experienced the largest increase, from $3.9 billion at the start of 2025 to more than $15 billion, followed by commodities.
Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, told Cointelegraph the surge in the RWA sector was driven by tokenized Treasurys, which offer compliant onchain access to real-world yield and effectively turn blockchain rails into a distribution layer for institutional capital.
The RWA market capitalization was around $30.2 billion as of Wednesday. Source: RWA.xyz
Regulatory clarity through legislation such as Europe’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has also helped attract institutional players and fresh capital to the RWA sector, according to a Thursday report from crypto data aggregator CoinGecko.
Tokenization has been one of the drivers of institutional interest in blockchain and crypto over the past year. Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest predicts digital assets could grow into a $28 trillion market by 2030, with Bitcoin, decentralized finance, stablecoins and tokenized RWAs as key drivers.
Stablecoins overtake Bitcoin in Latin America crypto purchases — Bitso
Digital asset adoption in Latin America is evolving, with more users now converting funds into stablecoins than into Bitcoin — a shift that reflects growing pressure from local economic conditions.
According to Bitso’s 2025 report on crypto adoption in Latin America, 40% of crypto purchases in 2025 were US dollar-linked stablecoins such as Tether’s USDt (USDT) and Circle’s USDC (USDC), while Bitcoin (BTC) accounted for 18%. The report marks the first time stablecoin purchases have surpassed Bitcoin in the region.
The findings are based on data from Bitso’s nearly 10 million retail users across its exchange platform.
The trend reflects a broader move toward what the Latin American crypto exchange described as “digital dollarization.” In countries facing persistent inflation, currency depreciation and limited access to traditional banking, stablecoins offer a relatively accessible way to store value and transact in US dollar equivalents.
The most purchased assets in 2025 across Latin America. Source: Bitso