Crypto VC funding: Tenstorrent raises $1.5b, Whop secures $200m

Crypto and crypto-linked companies announced $1.7626 billion across eight disclosed financings during Oct. 17–23, 2026, led by Tenstorrent’s $1.5 billion Series E.

Crypto Fundraising, DeFiLlama and DropsTab provided the deal inventory, checked against company announcements, investor disclosures and reporting. Amounts reflect financing announced during the week, including transactions that closed earlier. Valuations, cumulative funding and previously announced offerings are excluded from the aggregate.

Tenstorrent’s $1.5 billion round dominates crypto-linked funding

Tenstorrent closed its Series E on Oct. 19, with Trace Capital and Innovation X leading the $1.5 billion equity financing. The round valued the AI computing company at $6.2 billion after the investment.

Participants included ARK Invest, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Morgan Stanley, Sandisk, T. Rowe Price and Tether Investments. Tether announced its participation the following day without disclosing its individual contribution or ownership stake.

Tenstorrent said proceeds would support large-scale deployment of Galaxy servers and development of the AI and CPU designs it licenses to chipmakers. Its operations include Santa Clara and Austin.

The company accounted for approximately 85.1% of the disclosed weekly total. Its inclusion reflects the overlap between crypto investment firms and AI infrastructure, rather than a blockchain-specific funding round.

Whop raises $200 million at a $5.1 billion valuation

Whop announced a $200 million Series D on Oct. 21, led by Sequoia and Shopify Ventures. The company put its valuation at $5.1 billion.

The platform helps people and businesses sell digital products, software access, subscriptions and online services. Whop said the capital would support international expansion and research and development focused on payments and advertising.

The financing followed Tether’s separate $200 million strategic investment in February, which valued Whop at $1.6 billion. Only the newly announced Series D enters this week’s total.

Whop’s stablecoin payment capabilities connect the broader commerce business to crypto infrastructure. The latest announcement names Sequoia and Shopify Ventures as the round’s leaders; Tether’s earlier investment remains a separate transaction.

Erebor receives a $30 million preferred-stock investment

Robinhood Ventures Fund I disclosed on Oct. 21 that it had purchased $30 million of preferred stock in Erebor Bank. The investment closed on Sep. 17.

Erebor serves US businesses across technology, defense, robotics, AI, and digital assets. Robinhood said the bank received its full national charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and FDIC insurance in February.

The bank’s deposit base had grown beyond $7 billion, according to the announcement. That deposit figure is separate from the preferred-stock investment and does not enter the funding total.

The transaction also gives retail investors exposure through RVI, a closed-end fund trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Erebor’s preferred shares themselves are investment securities, rather than insured bank deposits.

Mural’s $15 million Series A targets payment infrastructure

Mural raised $15 million in a Series A led by Tether, with North Island Ventures and existing investors participating. Its Oct. 20 announcement put cumulative funding at $28 million.

The New York company connects accounts, payments, identity checks and compliance tools for financial platforms. Its infrastructure combines local banking connections with blockchain payment networks.

Mural said it had processed $2.1 billion in payments for users across 128 countries since launching its API in 2025. Customers include Deel and Opera.

Proceeds will support hiring, licensing, compliance, and expansion into additional markets. Mural also develops controls for payments initiated by AI agents, including spending limits, approved counterparties and audit records.

Funding below $15 million spans AI data and Bitcoin income

• Dataline announced a $10.6 million seed round co-led by Lattice and Dispersion Capital, with Coinbase Ventures, Symbolic Capital, Anagram and Vlad Tenev participating. The company provides data for AI agents. Its announcement accompanies plans for a separate public token sale; unannounced sale proceeds are excluded.
• Nectar Group, the developer of HoneyB, announced $5 million in seed financing, naming Portal Ventures, Peer Ventures and Anchorage Digital Ventures among its backers. HoneyB plans to connect Bitcoin collateral with institutional income strategies, coordinating custody, credit and asset management.
• Hylo announced a $1 million strategic round led by Solana Ventures, with Colosseum participating. The Solana protocol develops leveraged tokens, stablecoin and yield infrastructure. Its earlier $1.5 million seed financing is excluded.
• X Pay announced $1 million from nine investors, including DCI, Credit Scend, Skyland Ventures and Zerra Ventures. The Netherlands-based company uses x402 for automated USDC payments. Proceeds will support additional blockchains, a security review, an API marketplace and EU compliance preparations.

Undisclosed rounds include Peso, Lighthouse and Sonic

• Peso secured a Tether-led pre-seed investment announced Oct. 21. Tether said the Bolivian fintech would expand USDT payment infrastructure across Latin America. The investment amount was undisclosed.
• Lighthouse announced additional strategic funding for persistent AI-agent memory and decentralized storage. Its $1.58 million figure represents cumulative funding; the latest round’s size and participants were not separately identified.
• Sonic Labs announced an OTC agreement involving approximately 13 million S tokens and an unnamed long-term partner. The consideration was undisclosed, so the tokens’ indicative market value is excluded from the total.