Kalshi’s $1 Billion Round Made Up Nearly Half of October Crypto VC Funding

Kalshi’s $1 billion financing accounted for nearly half of October’s $2.099 billion in crypto venture funding, even as the month’s total remained well below its year-earlier level.

Kalshi, a prediction market regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), completed a $1 billion financing that valued the company at $40 billion. Sequoia and Wellington Management jointly led the round. Kalshi’s previous financing in May valued it at $22 billion. The $1 billion raise represented about 48% of the month’s total.

The cutoff snapshot covered 67 publicly disclosed Crypto VC projects, 8.1% more than in September and 40.2% fewer than in October 2025. Total funding reached $2.099 billion, rising 65.4% from September’s $1.269 billion but falling 65.3% from the $6.046 billion recorded a year earlier.

Whop secured $200 million in a Series D at a $5.09 billion valuation. Its platform offers business software, payment tools and operating services for small merchants. Sequoia and Shopify Ventures jointly led the financing. Whop earns most of its revenue from transaction commissions, averaging about 6% across the platform.

Stablecoin payment companies also attracted capital. PhotonPay raised $40 million in a Series C led by Blockchain Capital. It plans to expand its multi-asset wallets, global card issuance and local clearing network while developing financial tools for AI agents. Noah added $16 million to its seed round, bringing its total seed funding to $38 million. The company plans to broaden regulatory coverage, hire engineering and compliance staff, and establish a New York office. Since the start of 2026, Noah has added more than 150 customers and serves over 150 markets with support for more than 60 currencies.

AI and tokenization featured in other large rounds. Nous Research raised $90 million in a Series B that valued the open-source AI research group at $1.5 billion; it also launched an AI agent for enterprise customers. Spiko raised $90 million in a Series B. Its platform issues blockchain-based shares in regulated money-market funds, including funds holding U.S. Treasurys, while independent custodian banks hold the assets outside Spiko’s balance sheet.

Projects with undisclosed funding amounts count toward the project tally but not the dollar total. The figures use records through Thursday, Oct. 29, and may change as additional financings are disclosed.