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Crypto pre-seed funding: 147 rounds, $3M median since 2024

By NAUT Research · · 7 min read

$3M Crypto pre-seed funding median of 49 sized crypto pre-seed rounds dated 2024 or later, read 14 November 2026. Logos: 0G, Cygnus Finance, Tria, Altius, PIN AI, vlayer, Velocity, SatLayer, Tea Protocol, Fraction AI, Eclipse.

NAUT tracks 147 crypto pre-seed funding rounds at 142 live companies, and the 49 rounds dated 2024 or later that disclosed an amount had a median size of $3M, read on 14 November 2026. The backers that appear most often on NAUT's record are Big Brain Holdings (8 rounds), MH Ventures (6) and 4 funds on 5 each: Maven 11 Capital, a16z Frontier, Cogitent Ventures and OKX Ventures.

Data as of 14 November 2026, from NAUT's round records. The scope is every round stored as pre-seed (8 spellings, from "Pre-Seed Round" to "Pre Seed Funding Round") at a project row that is not archived or merged; 6 records with mixed labels such as "Pre-Seed & Seed Rounds" are left out. 134 of the 147 carry an amount and 115 carry a date. 2 records are left out of every sum, median and ranking below because they do not hold up: Canton Network's $60M record is dated 2016 and no outside source found the round, and Terra Luna Classic's $10M record has no date and no source found it either. Eclipse holds 2 $6M records a day apart in September 2022, counted as NAUT stores them. 10 of the 147 records were put to outside reports, listed under Sources. NAUT Research wrote this report; no one paid for it.

How much crypto pre-seed funding does a startup raise?

The median crypto pre-seed round on NAUT's record is $1.71M across 132 sized records ($359.4M in total, without the 2 records above), and $3M for the 49 sized rounds dated 2024 or later ($224.0M in total). 55 records are dated 2024 or later, 11 of them in 2026.

Year Rounds dated With an amount Median Total
2021 11 11 $1.0M $13.9M
2022 21 19 $2.4M $55.6M
2023 21 20 $1.5M $33.8M
2024 27 24 $3.0M $118.7M
2025 17 16 $3.5M $87.4M
2026 11 9 $1.7M $18.0M
  • The median pre-seed round size doubled from 2023 to 2024. The median went from $1.5M to $3.0M, and 2024 is the busiest year on the record with 27 dated rounds.
  • 2025 includes 1 record with a date problem. Perle Labs' $8.5M pre-seed is stored on 7 August 2025, and the outside report checked, from that day, covers its later seed round and does not support that date for the pre-seed. Without it, the 2025 median is $3.0M.
  • 2026 is still filling in. 11 rounds dated to 14 November, 2 of them (Peso and Ibis) with no amount yet. 6 records from 2018 to 2020 sit outside the table.

Which crypto pre-seed funding rounds were the largest?

These are the 11 largest crypto pre-seed funding records on NAUT, ranked by amount, after leaving out Canton Network, Terra Luna Classic and Perle Labs. Eclipse and Fraction AI tie at $6M for 10th.

Company Raised Date Backers Check
$35M 26 Mar 2024 8 Confirmed
$20M 20 Feb 2025 6 Confirmed
$12M 14 Oct 2025 4 Confirmed
$11M Feb 2025 6 Amount matched
$10M Sep 2024 11 Confirmed
$10M Nov 2024 2 Amount matched
$10M 28 May 2025 4 Confirmed
$8M Aug 2024 15 Not checked
$7M Not dated on NAUT 8 Not checked
$6M 18 Dec 2024 13 Not checked
$6M Sep 2022 3 Not checked

"Backers" counts the backers on NAUT and "Check" is the outside report check. "Amount matched" means the outside report gave the same amount and a date 1 day earlier, so the table shows the month. PIN AI's report is dated 2 days before NAUT's record, so it also shows the month.

Crypto pre-seed funding, 11 largest records on NAUT
  1. 0G$35M
  2. Cygnus Finance$20M
  3. Tria$12M
  4. Altius$11M
  5. PIN AI$10M
  6. vlayer$10M
  7. Velocity$10M
  8. SatLayer$8M
  9. Tea Protocol$7M
  10. Fraction AI$6M
  11. Eclipse$6M

0G's $35M is 1.75 times the next record and about 12 times the $3M median since 2024. The Block reports Hack VC led it, and Chainwire's release lists OKX Ventures among the backers of Cygnus Finance's $20M. On their NAUT pages, SatLayer's round reads as led by Hack VC and Castle Island Ventures, and Fraction AI's as co-led by The Spartan Group and Symbolic Capital.

Who backs crypto pre-seed rounds most often?

90 of the 147 records name at least 1 backer on NAUT's record, 251 distinct backers in all. These are the most frequent pre-seed backers, ranked by the number of pre-seed records each backs ("Sum" adds the amounts on those records):

Fund Records Sum Companies
8 $30.4M , , , , , , ,
6 $22.3M , , , , ,
5 $67.0M , , , ,
5 $27.1M , , , ,
5 $14.0M , , , ,
5 $10.2M , , , ,

9 more funds sit on 4 records each: Amber Group, Anagram Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Foresight Ventures, Hack VC, Mechanism Capital, NGC Ventures and Symbolic Capital. Grass and Wynd Network each carry a $1M record dated 4 July 2023 with Big Brain Holdings on both. For a fund-by-fund view with check sizes, see NAUT's crypto pre-seed investors ranking.

Crypto pre-seed records backed, top 6 funds on NAUT
  1. Big Brain Holdings8
  2. MH Ventures6
  3. OKX Ventures5
  4. a16z Frontier5
  5. Cogitent Ventures5
  6. Maven 11 Capital5

OKX Ventures sits on 5 records, and they sum to $67.0M, the most of the 6, because 2 of them are 0G and Cygnus Finance.

What this tells a BD team

  • The newest pre-seed money is small and recent. The 9 sized 2026 rounds have a $1.7M median, and Maven 11 Capital backed 2 of them in September 2026, Tenka and functionSPACE.
  • The largest rounds bought infrastructure. 0G, Altius, vlayer, SatLayer and Eclipse describe infrastructure on their NAUT pages (an AI operating system, an execution layer, Solidity extensions, Bitcoin restaking and an Ethereum layer 2), so a team that sells to protocol builders has 5 funded targets in the top 11.
  • Each company page lists its team. Start from the 11 records in the table and open the page for the founder.
How a BD team can work the pre-seed list
  1. Pick the window55 rounds are dated 2024 or later, 11 of them in 2026.
  2. Sort by sizeStart at the 11 largest, from 0G at $35M to Eclipse at $6M.
  3. Open the teamEach company page on NAUT lists the people, with the channels NAUT holds.
  4. Check the backersOKX Ventures sits on 5 of these records, including 0G and Cygnus Finance.

What this tells a founder raising a pre-seed

  • Plan around $3M, and expect less in 2026. That is the median for rounds dated 2024 or later, and the 2026 rounds so far sit at $1.7M.
  • Some funds come back again and again. Big Brain Holdings is on 8 records, MH Ventures on 6.
  • Large pre-seeds are rare. 7 records on NAUT reach $10M or more after the left-out rows, and all 7 amounts matched an outside report.
How a founder can build a pre-seed list
  1. Set the target$3M is the median since 2024, $1.7M in 2026 so far.
  2. List the repeat backersStart with the 6 funds that back 5 or more records.
  3. Read each fundThe NAUT API returns each fund portfolio with round type and amount.
  4. Find the partnerThe fund page lists its people, so you can reach the right one.

Related reading on NAUT: Crypto funding stages: 85 rounds, medians $1.85M to $60M and Crypto seed investors: 18 funds led 15 rounds, 3 led twice.

Can you pull this data through the NAUT API?

Yes: GET https://api.naut.so/v1/investors/big-brain-holdings with Authorization: Bearer $NAUT_KEY returns 1 fund with its team and portfolio, and each portfolio row carries roundType, amountUsd, announceDate and isLead, so you can filter it to pre-seed. Each data call costs 5 credits, and the Essential plan at $49 a month holds 3,000 credits; see the API docs and pricing. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn for the people on these pages unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial.

Crypto pre-seed funding FAQ

How much do crypto startups raise at pre-seed?

NAUT's record of 49 sized crypto pre-seed rounds dated 2024 or later, read on 14 November 2026, gives a median of $3M; across all 132 sized records it is $1.71M. The 9 sized rounds dated 2026 so far have a $1.7M median.

Who funds crypto pre-seed rounds most often?

On NAUT's record of 147 pre-seed rounds read on 14 November 2026, Big Brain Holdings backs 8, MH Ventures 6, and Maven 11 Capital, a16z Frontier, Cogitent Ventures and OKX Ventures 5 each.

What is the largest crypto pre-seed round?

Of the records that hold up on NAUT as of 14 November 2026, 0G's $35M pre-seed in March 2024 is the largest, led by Hack VC according to The Block. Cygnus Finance's $20M in February 2025 is next.

Where can I find crypto pre-seed investors and their contact channels?

On NAUT: the 251 backers on its 147 pre-seed records link to their NAUT pages, from Big Brain Holdings to OKX Ventures, and GET https://api.naut.so/v1/investors/okx-ventures returns 1 fund with its team. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial.

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