[This Week's Crypto Startup Funding Totals Approximately $176 Million, VC Prefers 'Sustainable Business Models'] Odaily Planet Daily News: Despite the crypto market retreating from its October peak and losing approximately $1 trillion in total market capitalization, venture capital firms still invested around $176 million into the crypto industry this week, covering 16 startup projects. According to DefiLlama data, total funding in the crypto sector in 2025 to date has exceeded $25 billion, significantly higher than the same period last year and far surpassing early-year market expectations. Major investors this week include Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Digital Currency Group (DCG). Several industry insiders pointed out that the current capital allocation logic is shifting, with investors gradually moving away from projects solely driven by market sentiment and narratives, focusing more on clear product positioning, genuine demand, and sustainable revenue models. Sebastián Serrano, CEO of Argentine crypto trading platform Ripo, stated that projects with clear product-market fit and stable cash flow are more likely to secure funding in the current environment. Specifically, cross-chain infrastructure project LI.FI completed a $29 million funding round this week. Its protocol integrates multiple cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchange aggregators, with plans to use the funds for infrastructure expansion targeting AI agents and stablecoin scenarios, as well as advancing the intent and solver marketplace set to launch in Q1 2026. Real Finance also completed a $29 million private funding round. The project is building an institutional-grade L1 blockchain based on the Cosmos architecture, focusing on compliant tokenization of real-world assets, with a short-term goal of bringing approximately $500 million in assets on-chain. Another key project, TenX Protocols, raised $22 million in funding and has already been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange's Venture Exchange. Its business includes staking, validator nodes, and digital asset treasury services across multiple high-performance public blockchains. The current funding structure reflects the market's sustained interest in 'infrastructure-oriented' and 'institution-friendly' projects. Even under overall market pressure, capital remains willing to invest in projects with long-term competitiveness and clear business paths. (DL News)