Wintermute Ventures quietly adjusted its investment pace in 2025. According to the latest statement from CEO Evgeny Gaevoy, the success rate for new project investments by institutions this year has dropped to 4%, a figure that has attracted considerable attention across the crypto investment community.

Unlike the "broad deployment" strategy of previous years, Wintermute this year focused its screening criteria on three dimensions: technological robustness, team execution capability, and project-ecosystem fit. In other words, to secure investment from this institution, projects must score highly in all three areas; otherwise, it's basically a no-go.

What does a 4% success rate mean? Simply put, out of 100 business plans (BP), only 4 can pass the initial review. This ratio is approaching the admission standards of top universities, which indeed puts significant pressure on startups seeking funding. Many industry insiders comment that this move marks a turning point—suggesting that the crypto market may be shifting from broad, indiscriminate investing to more refined, selective screening.

From an institutional perspective, this adjustment reflects several realities: First, the survival rate and returns of projects invested in over the past two years have been uneven, prompting investors to raise their standards; second, market enthusiasm is returning to rationality, and the era of blindly chasing trends is over; third, rising capital costs mean institutions need to balance risk with higher expectations.

For startups, this undoubtedly presents a challenge. The difficulty of raising funds is increasing sharply, requiring more effort to refine products, accumulate data, and demonstrate business value. Some entrepreneurs may need to spend more time on roadshows and fundraising. But from another angle, this high threshold could also foster more "hardcore" projects—those with genuine technical expertise and reliable teams may attract even more attention.

It is worth noting that while a single institution's strategic adjustment has indicative significance, it does not directly represent the overall industry trend. However, when leading investment firms are raising their standards, this signal is indeed worth serious attention from all participants within the ecosystem. For investors, this may mean that the projects subsequently funded by Wintermute and similar institutions have already undergone a significant portion of the screening process on your behalf.

The market is evolving, and the ecosystem is optimizing. This may well become the new normal for crypto financing in 2025.