Why is this important
The volume of investments in fintech shows how much capital the market is ready to invest in payments, banks, crypto infrastructure, and related services, which means it affects the pace of launching new products and competition. Shifting to fewer transactions during larger rounds changes startups’ access to money and intensifies competition for investors.
What happened
- According to Crunchbase News, fintech startups attracted $52.4 billion in 2025, which is higher than the level of 2024, but significantly lower than the peak values of 2021-2022.
- At the same time, the number of transactions decreased, although the size of rounds increased on average, reflecting the concentration of financing.
- The article presents the largest transactions and investors’ comments on the reasons for the surge in 2021-2022 and on changing the investment approach in 2025.
Numbers and facts
- Fintech startups attracted $52.4 billion in 2025, and $40.8 billion in 2024.
- For comparison, the peak values were $141.6 billion in 2021 and $90.2 billion in 2022.
- In 2025, 3,457 transactions were concluded, which is 23% less than in 2024 (4,486 transactions).
- Among the major deals are: Polymarket — $2 billion from the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, Binance — $2 billion from the Abu Dhabi government fund MGX, Kalshi — $1 billion.
- According to Crunchbase’s surveyed investors, 2021 and 2022 were “anomalous” due to market recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
- In 2025, they said, interest in fintech increased again, but investors became more selective against the backdrop of “preserved geopolitical uncertainty”.
- It is also noted that, according to investors, they do not consider it desirable to return to the excitement of 2021-2022: then, according to their assessment, investments were fueled by “popular enthusiasm for digitalization”, and now the focus has shifted to the “quality” of startups and the uniqueness of ideas.
Context
- An increase in the amount of attractions with a decrease in the number of transactions means that capital is concentrated in fewer companies and goes to larger rounds more often.
- The mention of geopolitical uncertainty explains the more cautious choice of projects and can hold the market back from returning to 2021-2022 levels of overheating.
- Large rounds at Polymarket, Binance, and Kalshi show that significant sums are still being received by players with scale and a clear effect for the market.
