DWF Labs Launches $75M Fund to Accelerate Institutional Adoption of DeFi
Quick Breakdown:
- DWF Labs announced a $75 million fund to back DeFi projects with scalable, innovative solutions for institutional users.
- The fund will focus on dark-pool perpetual DEXs, decentralized money markets, and yield-bearing products on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, and Coinbase’s layer-2 Base.
- Along with capital, DWF Labs offers strategic support, liquidity provisioning, and access to crypto institutions to bolster DeFi’s shift towards mainstream institutional use.
DWF Labs commits $75M to institutional-grade DeFi projects
DWF Labs has announced plans to invest up to $75 million in DeFi projects that show real-world utility and can scale for institutional use. The firm is looking at areas like dark-pool perpetual DEXs, decentralized money markets, and products built around fixed income and yield-bearing assets. Managing partner Andrei Grachev described this moment as DeFi’s move into an “institutional phase,” stressing the need for infrastructure that can absorb large order flows, preserve user privacy, and deliver sustainable returns.
We are launching the $75M DWF Labs DeFi Fund, focused on perp DEXs, money markets, and yield protocols across @ethereum , @BNBCHAIN , @solana , and @base .
Capital + liquidity + ecosystem support for teams ready to scale. pic.twitter.com/d6n0CWHHKA
— DWF Labs (@DWFLabs) November 26, 2025
Supporting infrastructure across multiple blockchains
The fund is focused on projects building on major blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, and Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network. In addition to capital, DWF Labs says it will provide support through liquidity provisioning, go-to-market guidance, and connections to partner exchanges, market makers, and institutional players.This integrated approach is designed to accelerate the growth of DeFi infrastructure capable of meeting the demands of institutional players.
DeFi’s growth and institutional potential
DeFi currently holds more than $120 billion in total value locked, down from its $175 billion peak during the 2021 “DeFi Summer.” While it still sits outside the traditional finance mainstream, it’s increasingly viewed as being on the brink of wider adoption, especially as more centralized institutions show interest. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov estimates the industry is about 30% of the way toward mass adoption today, expecting it to reach 50% once regulatory clarity improves and about 70% as the technology and infrastructure mature enough for large-scale institutional participation.
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