OpenTrade Raises $17 Million as Stablecoin Infrastructure Investment Accelerates

MakeCryippreferred on

Crypto infrastructure startup OpenTrade has raised $17 million in fresh funding, joining a growing list of companies attracting venture capital for businesses tied to stablecoins and tokenized financial products.

The London-based company said investors in the round included Mercury Fund, Notion Capital, a16z crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global.  The raise comes as venture firms continue directing capital toward stablecoin infrastructure businesses, even as broader crypto investment activity remains below the levels seen during the previous market cycle.

Over the past two years, investment in digital asset markets has increasingly shifted toward companies building payment systems, tokenized treasury products, and blockchain-based financial infrastructure instead of speculative consumer trading applications. Large technology ecosystems are also beginning to play a role in this shift, with cloud-based initiatives such as the Google Cloud stablecoin payment system framework being explored for enterprise-grade digital payment and settlement infrastructure.

Stablecoin Firms Expand Into Treasury and Yield Markets

OpenTrade develops infrastructure used by fintech firms and crypto platforms offering yield products connected to stablecoins and tokenized assets.

The company said its platform holds more than $200 million in total value locked and processed more than $250 million in transaction volume during 2025. The company said transaction volume exceeded $300 million during the early months of 2026. Industry reports cited by market analysts indicate the company is targeting more than $1 billion in annual transaction volume by the end of 2026 as adoption of tokenized yield products expands. The company plans to use part of the funding to expand engineering and operational teams amid growing competition in the tokenized yield sector.

OpenTrade is also expanding beyond its earlier yield-focused infrastructure model with additional protocol layers, including a permissionless framework and infrastructure linked to Sierra, a system designed for tokenized yield distribution across fintech and decentralized finance platforms.

The company’s products are tied to assets including money market instruments, commercial paper, and trade-finance exposure, areas that have become increasingly popular among digital asset firms seeking to connect blockchain-based products with traditional financial markets.

The market for tokenized real-world assets has grown over the past year as higher interest rates increased demand for yield-generating products linked to short-term debt instruments.

Industry data providers estimate that dollar-backed stablecoins now account for more than $300 billion in circulating supply globally. Tether remains the largest issuer, while USDC operator Circle has continued expanding partnerships with payment companies and financial institutions.

Regulatory Questions Remain Unresolved

The rapid growth of stablecoin-based financial products has also drawn increased attention from regulators. Authorities in the United States and Europe continue examining whether some crypto-yield products should fall under existing securities, banking, or money-market regulations. Policymakers have raised concerns about reserve transparency, liquidity management, and consumer protections tied to digital asset lending and yield services.

Within the U.S. market, parts of the industry are closely watching discussions surrounding the proposed CLARITY Act and related stablecoin legislation, particularly provisions tied to whether yield-bearing stablecoin rewards could be regulated as securities products.

Regulatory scrutiny intensified following the collapse of several crypto lenders during the 2022 market downturn, which exposed weaknesses in risk management across parts of the digital asset credit sector.

Despite those concerns, investment activity around tokenized finance infrastructure has remained active, particularly among firms targeting institutional clients rather than retail traders. Recent deals such as Kulipa stablecoin card infrastructure funding and OpenTrade’s latest capital raise reflect continued investor interest in payment networks, stablecoin infrastructure, and tokenized financial products despite ongoing regulatory uncertainty around the sector.