Interest in blockchain in Africa declined notably in 2025, reflected in a sharp contraction in investment. According to a new report by Swiss early-stage VC firm CV VC and South African bank Absa Bank, African blockchain startups raised a total of US$90.1 million in funding through 28 deals in 2025, marking a 26.6% year-over-year (YoY) decline in total value from 2024’s US$122.8 million, and a 6.7% decline in deal count from 30 deals in 2024.

This contraction is further illustrated by blockchain’s shrinking share of Africa’s all-sector venture funding. In 2025, blockchain represented just 5.3% of the ecosystem’s total funding value, down 2.7 points from 8% in 2025.

Blockchain funding by country

In 2025, South Africa maintained its dominance among African jurisdictions. Companies headquartered in South Africa represented 19.4% of blockchain funding in 2025 at US$17.5 million, and accounted for 25% of deals through seven transactions.

Nigeria follows with a share of 13.8% of blockchain VC funding by headquarters, raising US$12.4 million across six deals, taking a share of 21.4% share of deal count. Kenya accounts for 14.3% of funding value at US$12.9 million, with 14.3% of deals or four transactions.

The data also highlight the significant presence of entities structured offshore, especially those headquartered in the US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the UK. Companies headquartered in the US accounted for 37.3% of all blockchain funding value secured in 2025, and 10.7% of deals, the UAE contributed for 4.4% of value, and 7.1% of deals, while the UK accounted for 1.7% of value and 3.6% of deals.

Top blockchain deals by operational focus

An analysis through the lens of operational focus reveals a concentration on pan-African ventures. Operational focus is defined as the Africa country, or pan-continental footprint in which a company’s primary operations, majority of customers, revenue, staff, or product deployment is located.

In 2025, pan-African ventures led, with US$51.5 million across ten deals, representing 57.2% of all funding, and 35.7% of deal count. The category encompasses entities functioning across more than one African jurisdiction.

Notable transactions included Kredete’s US$22 million early stage VC round, the largest blockchain deal in 2025, and Cedar Money’s US$9.9 million seed round, ranking third.

Kredete helps African immigrants build credit and access financial services. It combines international money transfers with a proprietary credit-building engine, enabling users to send money to over 30 African countries while improving their credit history in the US and beyond.

Cedar Money is a US-based cross-border business-to-business (B2B) payment startup. It powers pay outs to over 130 countries around the world through faster and more affordable solutions.

After pan-Africa, South Africa ranked second operationally, with US$19 million across eight deals, representing 21.1% of total funding and 28.6% of deal count. One notable transaction was WhiteRock’s US$10 million initial coin offering (ICO).

WhiteRock is an on-chain brokerage for tokenized securities, aiming to bridge traditional finance and blockchain by enabling secure, compliant tokenization of real-world assets, including stocks, bonds, and commodities.

After South Africa, Nigeria followed with US$12.2 million and five deals, representing 13.5% of total funding and 17.9% of deal count. Notable examples included Hyperbridge’s US$5.6 million seed round, the fourth largest blockchain transaction in Africa in 2025, and Carrot’s US$4.2 million seed round, ranking seventh.

Hyperbridge is a Polkadot interoperability coprocessor, enabling on-chain verification of cross-chain messages using advanced consensus proofs and zk-light clients. Carrot is a Nigerian digital lending startup providing users with access to credit by allowing them to leverage assets like stocks, fixed-income products, crypto and other alternative investment products as collateral.

Sectoral trends

Looking at sectoral trends, data show that funding concentrated in application-layer categories with clear near-term revenue paths. Centralized blockchain services led with US$61.2 million across 19 deals with a 67.9% share of value and deal count.

This was followed by decentralized finance (DeFi), contributing US$20.8 million across five deals and a 23.1% share of value, and infrastructure and developer tools, contributing US$5 million from a single deal with a 5.5% share of value. Jambo is an on-chain mobile network aiming to expand access to DeFi and Web3 applications, particularly in emerging markets.

Global blockchain funding trends

This contraction in African blockchain funding stands in sharp contrast to the global market, which expanded notably in 2025, driven by larger deals. Globally, blockchain venture funding rose 28.8% YoY on a 32.1% YoY reduction in deal count.

Regionally, North America maintained its leadership position, accounting for 53.1% of total funding and 43.3% of deals. However, the Middle East was the standout growth story of the year, increasing its share of global blockchain funding from 3.1% in 2024 to 14.9% in 2025. This surge was largely driven by a cluster of sizable Gulf-based transactions.

Europe captured 14.8% of global funding alongside 19.9% of deal activity, implying a broader base of smaller transactions. Asia followed a similar pattern, contributing 10.8% of funding and 18.4% of deals, reflecting steady activity.

This article first appeard on fintechnews.ae

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by freepik via Magnific