From Casting Nets to Curation: How Leading Investment Institutions Are Reshaping Financing Logic in Web3

PriceOracleFairy · 2026-01-08T13:40:11+00:00

Wintermute Ventures' investment strategy has shifted from broad outreach to strict screening, with only 4% of projects receiving funding in 2025, indicating a transition from wild growth to rational selection in the industry. They emphasize that investment decisions are unrelated to market-making authorization, and the choice of financing tools is based on founders' understanding of their long-term vision.

PriceOracleFairy

2026-01-08 13:40:11

Abstract generation in progress

【Crypto World】Wintermute Ventures founder and CEO Evgeny Gaevoy recently shared a set of interesting data. Once upon a time, their investment strategy was to cast a wide net, but now? The situation has reversed.

In 2025, this institution completed 23 investments, which sounds like a lot, but the criteria behind these choices have completely changed. They reviewed about 600 companies, of which only 20% entered the formal due diligence stage, and ultimately only 4% of projects received funding. In other words, for every company they invest in, they reject 24. This change in the approval rate reflects the industry’s shift from wild growth to rational screening.

Interestingly, Wintermute Ventures emphasizes that investment decisions are completely decoupled from market-making (MM) authorization, meaning they do not invest just to gain trading permissions. This independence was not common in the early days of Web3.

Regarding financing tools, the most popular combination in 2025 was equity/SAFE plus token warrants, but how exactly they are combined depends on the founders’ understanding of the project’s long-term vision. Investors will match the most suitable financing structure based on this, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach. The underlying logic is that the financing method itself reflects risk assessment and value judgment.

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HalfBuddhaMoney

· 01-11 12:59

A 4% filtering rate... This is the way it should be, finally someone dares to say no --- How many corpses are left in the net-sowing era? Now, the real investment is in the founding team's vision --- Talking about market-making authorization, does that mean someone really used this as a reason before? Laughs --- Long-term vision... Listen, there are not many investors who still believe in this now --- What does 4% mean? Just pick 1 out of 99 projects, and only a few will survive --- From net-sowing to screening, this change indicates one thing: the previous money was really burned foolishly

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gm_or_ngmi

· 01-10 18:39

4% pass rate? No way, is this real? Feels like they're screening for the next Elon Musk --- Haha, as expected, once there's more money, people start to become picky. Those who previously dared to gamble everything are now becoming more refined --- What sounds good is "rational choice," but in less nice terms, isn't it just about whitewashing after cashing out the rakes? --- Founder’s long-term vision... I laughed. Does this phrase even hold value in a fundraising pitch? --- Wait, does this mean their previous investments were all trash? Now they want to rely on this 4% to save their reputation? --- Actually, this is the normal investment logic, right? The group that blindly threw money before is the real anomaly --- Even the founders themselves don't know what they're doing, so how can there be talk of long-term vision... Web3 circles are just like this

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rekt_but_vibing

· 01-08 14:06

Ha, a 4% pass rate? That's really how you weed out the chives. Strict screening is a nice way to put it. I just want to ask whether the 96% of projects truly have no prospects or if the founders just "know how to tell stories." Separating market making and fundraising... If you believe that, then you're really gullible. The term "long-term vision"—how many projects that have already rug pulled does it actually refer to? Speaking of which, the industry really needs to calm down. From casting a wide net to selecting carefully, it's a process from chives everywhere to precise harvesting, haha. The founders' long-term vision? Just look at how many of these "long-term" plans have turned into "跑路" (跑路 means "run away" or "exit scam") in the past two years. This number is quite sobering, indicating that 2024 has indeed wasted quite a few bullets.

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just_another_wallet

· 01-08 14:03

The industry has finally calmed down, but does the 4% figure sound like all the projects we've invested in are dead... From broad casting to selectivity, it feels like just giving an explanation for early failed projects? Wintermute's shift this time is quite realistic, to be honest, it was a reckless investment before, now they are starting to be selective. Is the fundraising tool unrelated to market making? Let's just listen to this statement. Strict screening is good, but how many founders truly have a long-term vision? Most are probably just telling stories. Web3 is still Web3, no matter how much the investment logic changes, it can't change the underlying confidence crisis.

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TokenomicsShaman

· 01-08 13:59

Damn, a 4% pass rate? That's real competition now, and we'll never go back to the era of flood irrigation. The industry has finally matured, although most projects are dead in the water. The founder's long-term vision is well articulated, which is more effective than any token model tricks. Decoupling market making from fundraising is a real relief for analysts like us; we can finally focus on fundamentals. The era of casting a wide net is really enjoyable. Now, raising funds requires some real skill. Choosing fundraising tools based on the founder’s understanding? Sounds just like choosing a husband—very particular. Agreed, the situation of bad money driving out good money is gradually improving, even though it's still chaotic. This shift was long overdue; quality > quantity, and the industry has finally figured it out.

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ShibaOnTheRun

· 01-08 13:57

The net-casting era is truly over. Now, these big institutions are stuck, and 96% of projects have been eliminated... It feels like it’s even harder for entrepreneurs now.

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