OpenTrade, a London-based provider of institutional-grade stablecoin yield infrastructure, has raised $17M in a strategic funding round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global. The platform enables fintechs, neobanks and exchanges to offer compliant, RWA-backed yield products on stablecoins like USDC, USDT and EURC via APIs and tokenized vaults. The capital will expand permissioned and permissionless infrastructure while growing asset management and trading teams.
RWA TVL Explodes 66% in 2026
The raise follows a surge in tokenized real-world assets, with on-chain market cap climbing 66% year-to-date to $23.6B. Pharos Network raised $44M Series A in April for RWA tokenization infrastructure. OpenTrade's focus on white-label yield for Web2 fintechs differentiates it from Pharos' Layer 1 blockchain approach, targeting embedded products amid stablecoin supply topping $310B.
Idle Stablecoins Drain Fintech Revenue
Fintechs and neobanks hold billions in idle stablecoin balances earning no yield, missing revenue from high-quality RWAs like US Treasuries and money market funds. Emerging markets like LatAm see stablecoin transaction volumes exploding, yet platforms lack compliant, scalable yield solutions without off-ramping. Current DeFi options expose users to volatility and smart contract risks, while traditional finance requires lengthy builds for integration.
Tokenized Vaults Unlock 24/7 Yields
OpenTrade's vaults deliver predictable APYs from 1.73% on EUR sovereign bonds to 14% on private credit, using bankruptcy-remote SPVs and on-chain attestations. Products like USD Money Market Fund Vaults (XTBT, ~3.85% APY) and High Yield Corporate Bond Vault (XHYC, ~7% APY) integrate via API for custodial platforms. Unlike Centrifuge's focus on illiquid invoice tokenization, OpenTrade prioritizes liquid, low-risk assets for neobanks. Curation+ partners with FCA-regulated Five Sigma Finance for bespoke vaults.
As David Sutter, OpenTrade’s CEO and co-founder, noted:
“OpenTrade has made it simple for fintechs and neobanks to plug institutional-grade stablecoin yield into their products.”
Strategic Backers Signal Scale-Up
Mercury Fund and Notion Capital lead this round, bringing the total raised past $30M including prior $7M from a16z crypto. This mix of crypto-native and fintech investors validates OpenTrade's bridge between TradFi compliance and Web3 scalability. Participants like Circle Ventures underscore stablecoin issuer confidence in RWA yield infrastructure.
Stablecoins Hit $320B Milestone
Stablecoin market cap reached $320B, with RWA TVL excluding stablecoins at $30B per recent reports. Tokenized RWAs stand at $19.3B in 2026, projected to $10T by 2030 amid institutional inflows from BlackRock and Coinbase. OpenTrade's $200M TVL and $250M 2025 transaction volume position it to capture growth in LatAm and beyond.
Centre Founders Drive Expertise
Co-founders David Sutter and Jeff Handler hail from Centre, the USDC governance consortium of Circle and Coinbase. Their experience in stablecoin standards informs OpenTrade's securities lending-derived structure for stablecoins. This domain knowledge accelerates compliant product launches like USDT support and DeFi vaults.
Targeting $1B Annual Volume
OpenTrade projects $1B in 2026 transaction volume after $300M in the first four months, fueled by partnerships like Belo for LatAm USDC/USDT yields. The funding supports hiring in engineering, sales and operations, plus non-custodial expansions and Managed DeFi Vaults rollout.