Analyst: Historical data shows that venture capital prefers AI over cryptocurrency

CoinDesk analyst Sam Reynolds stated that, according to Pitchbook data, the first quarter of 2025 saw venture capital financing in the US cryptocurrency sector totaling around $861 million, while the AI industry attracted nearly $20 billion, with funds still clearly favoring artificial intelligence. Major fundings in the AI sector include: Databricks with $15.3 billion, Anthropic with $2 billion, totaling 795 transactions. The largest funding in the cryptocurrency industry was Abu Dhabi MGX's $2 billion investment in Binance, with other fundings including Mesh with $82 million, Bitwise with $70 million, and Sygnum Bank with $58 million.

Historical data shows that AI financing grew from $670 million in 2011 to $36 billion in 2020, with overall growth far exceeding the cryptocurrency sector, only briefly surpassing AI financing in 2021 due to classification adjustments. Despite AI funding dominance, the cryptocurrency industry still obtains funds through unique mechanisms such as airdrops, with 11 major airdrops from 2020 to 2024 creating a total of $7 billion.

According to Statista data, all historical data shows that venture capital generally leans more towards artificial intelligence (AI) rather than cryptocurrency, with funds attracted to artificial intelligence and machine learning continuing to grow and expand exponentially, from $670 million in 2011 to $36 billion in 2020.