Blockchain Funding in Africa Falls 26.6% in 2025 as Global Market Expands
Blockchain investment in Africa declined sharply in 2025, even as the global market recorded strong growth, according to a new report by Swiss early-stage venture capital firm CV VC and South African lender Absa Bank. African blockchain startups raised US$90.1 million across 28 deals last year, down 26.6% from US$122.8 million in 2024. Deal volume also eased, slipping 6.7% from 30 transactions to 28.
The report shows that blockchain’s share of total venture funding in Africa also weakened. In 2025, the sector accounted for 5.3% of all venture capital raised across the continent, down from 8% the previous year. The figures suggest that blockchain remains a visible part of Africa’s startup ecosystem, but one that is drawing a smaller share of overall investor attention.
South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya Lead Funding
By headquarters, South Africa remained the largest destination for blockchain funding in Africa. Startups based in the country secured US$17.5 million, representing 19.4% of total funding, across seven deals. Nigeria followed with US$12.4 million in six deals, while Kenya raised US$12.9 million across four transactions.
The report also highlights the role of offshore structures in African blockchain investment. Companies headquartered in the United States captured 37.3% of total funding value in 2025, despite accounting for just 10.7% of deals. The UAE contributed 4.4% of total value and 7.1% of deals, while the UK accounted for 1.7% of funding value and 3.6% of deal activity.
Pan-African Startups Capture the Largest Share
Looking at operational focus rather than legal headquarters, pan-African ventures attracted the largest share of capital. These companies raised US$51.5 million across ten deals, or 57.2% of total funding. The category includes businesses with operations spanning more than one African market.
Among the largest transactions in 2025 was Kredete’s US$22 million early-stage round, the biggest blockchain deal of the year. Kredete provides African immigrants with tools to build credit while sending money to more than 30 African countries. Another major deal was Cedar Money’s US$9.9 million seed round. The US-based startup focuses on cross-border B2B payments and says it supports payouts to more than 130 countries.
South Africa ranked second by operational focus with US$19 million across eight deals, including WhiteRock’s US$10 million initial coin offering. WhiteRock is developing an on-chain brokerage for tokenized securities and aims to bridge traditional finance and blockchain through tokenization of assets such as stocks, bonds and commodities.
Nigeria followed with US$12.2 million across five deals. Notable rounds included Hyperbridge’s US$5.6 million seed financing and Carrot’s US$4.2 million seed round. Hyperbridge focuses on interoperability and cross-chain message verification, while Carrot offers digital lending backed by alternative assets such as stocks, fixed-income products and crypto.
Funding Concentrated in Application-Layer Use Cases
Sectorally, investment was concentrated in businesses with near-term commercial potential. Centralized blockchain services led the market with US$61.2 million across 19 deals, accounting for 67.9% of funding value and deal count. Decentralized finance, or DeFi, followed with US$20.8 million across five deals. Infrastructure and developer tools attracted US$5 million from a single deal.
The report also points to Jambo as an example of the on-chain mobile network model, aimed at expanding access to DeFi and Web3 applications in emerging markets.
Industry Analysis
The data suggest that African blockchain funding is becoming more selective, with capital increasingly concentrated in companies that offer practical financial services, cross-border payments, lending and infrastructure with clear revenue paths. The dominance of pan-African ventures indicates that investors continue to favor scalable business models that can operate across multiple markets. At the same time, the decline in funding contrasts sharply with the global blockchain market, which expanded 28.8% in 2025, underscoring Africa’s relative cooling in investor appetite despite ongoing startup activity.
Globally, blockchain venture funding rose 28.8% year over year, even as deal count fell 32.1%. North America remained the largest market, while the Middle East emerged as the fastest-growing region, increasing its share of global blockchain funding from 3.1% in 2024 to 14.9% in 2025.
