DWF Labs has just announced a $75 million DeFi fund

Equity for Institutional DeFi

The $75 million investment, structured as an exclusive allocation from DWF Labs' treasury, prioritizes founders addressing " real structural problems " in liquidity, payments, credit, and on-chain risk — avoiding "incremental variations" of existing protocols for tools like perpetual darknet decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and fixed-yield products.

Managing Partner Andrei Grachev emphasized: " DeFi is entering an institutional phase. We see a real need for infrastructure that can handle scale, protect order flow, and generate sustainable yields. "

Investments include Ethereum ($120 billion DeFi trading hub), BNB Chain (emerging markets with high trading volume), Solana (1,500 transactions per second for individuals), and Base (Coinbase's L2 with $2.5 billion TVL) - flexible on project timelines but prioritize projects with MVPs.

In addition to capital, DWF offers TVL growth strategies, liquidity provision, and exchange partnerships, building on its market-making capabilities with up to $10 billion in daily trading volume. This proprietary setup— unlike DWF’s $100 million+ external funds —protects against LP risk aversion, allowing for bold bets in a cycle where DeFi’s $120 billion TVL chases 5-8% yields but faces fragmented losses of up to 20%.

Competitive Restructuring

Developers tend to concentrate where capital is most abundant. This could cement Ethereum and Solana's lead and put Base at the forefront of DeFi activity.

DWF Labs is known for combining investment with proactive liquidity support. Projects that receive funding are likely to enjoy deeper liquidity buffers, reducing volatility and strengthening confidence in the token in its early stages.

The fund's focus suggests a shift towards sustainable value creation – lower-risk collateral models, advanced execution tools, unified liquidity layers and institutional-grade risk controls.

With the likes of Jump, Wintermute, Binance Labs, and a16z also returning to the investment stage, the race for high-quality DeFi infrastructure is becoming increasingly fierce.

Our view

DWF Labs’ $75 million DeFi fund is not just a capital investment, but also a strategic positioning move as the next major expansion cycle takes shape. As traditional finance increasingly embraces tokenized assets, stablecoin payments, and on-chain credit markets, competing DeFi ecosystems now need to deliver verifiable reliability, scalability, and economic security.

Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is the author's personal opinion in the cryptocurrency field. It is not intended to be financial or investment advice. Any investment decision should be based on careful consideration of your personal portfolio and risk tolerance. The views expressed in this article do not represent the official position of the platform. We recommend that readers conduct their own research and consult with a professional before making any investment decisions.