Fed’s hawkishness is great for crypto startups as ‘best companies aren’t built during periods of loose monetary policy,’ VC says

The Federal Reserve isn’t planning on opening the money spigots anytime soon, but that’s not stopping startup builders, venture capitalists say.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell didn’t just hold interest rates steady this week, but also signalled that the cuts traders expected to see this year may be held back for longer due to the uncertainties caused by escalating war in the Middle East.

High interest rates are usually bad for investors’ appetite for riskier bets such as cryptocurrencies and untested tech startups. In short, the US central bank is saying to prepare for some lean times.

However, that’s just where innovation thrives, VCs tell DL News.

“History consistently shows that the best companies aren’t built during periods of loose monetary policy,” Adam Winnick, general managing partner at investment firm Finality Capital, told DL News.

“They’re built during periods of tightening,” he said. “This is precisely the time to back founders and teams with proven execution skills and a strong clarity of thought.”

Winnick said that the 2000s dot-com bust became a proving ground for firms such as Amazon, Google and Salesforce, which endured the shakeout and went on to dominate.

“We’re seeing the same dynamic play out today,” he said. “While sentiment-driven investors react to near-term rate signals, builders across the blockchain ecosystem are shipping at an accelerating pace.”

Indeed, venture investors poured $155 million into crypto startups in the third week of March, DefiLlama data shows. That brings this year’s fundraising to nearly $3 billion. That’s 51% of the $5.8 billion raised by the industry in the first quarter of 2025.

Here are the top three raises this week.

MetaComp, $35 million

Singapore-based MetaComp secured $35 million in pre-Series A funding. The round is notable less for its size than its backers, with Alibaba and Spark Venture supporting the firm’s StableX Network.

MetaComp combines fiat and stablecoin rails for institutional wealth flows, targeting Asia–Middle East corridors long plagued by friction.

For Alibaba, the investment reflects a strategic move into the underlying infrastructure of cross-border commerce, with stablecoins positioned as a regulated, real-time settlement layer.

It is yet another sign that the titans of tech and finance are increasingly muscling into the crypto space by adopting blockchain rails.

Ironlight, $21 million

Austin-based Ironlight has raised $21 million in Series A funding for its tokenised securities platform.

It is a sign of deepening convergence between traditional finance and blockchain markets. The round was led by Greg Braca, former TD Bank chief executive, who now chairs the company.

Operating under SEC and FINRA oversight, Ironlight aims to bring private equity and real estate assets on-chain via the Sei blockchain. The model blends a conventional order book with blockchain settlement, reflecting a broader push to institutionalise tokenised real-world assets.

TransFi, $19 million

Dubai-based TransFi has raised $19.2 million to expand its stablecoin-powered payments infrastructure across high-growth emerging markets.

Backed by Turing Financial Group, the round combines equity with a dedicated liquidity facility, suited to the demands of cross-border settlement.

The platform serves more than two million users across 70 countries, enabling near-instant payroll and vendor payments while bypassing legacy systems such as SWIFT. The model addresses persistent inefficiencies in global finance, positioning TransFi as a key enabler of faster, lower-cost international payments.

You’re reading the latest instalment of The Weekly Raise, our column covering fundraising deals across the crypto and DeFi spaces, powered by DefiLlama.

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].