TL;DR
- Galaxy Ventures led a $7M seed round in Tenbin Labs, a tokenized assets startup.
- Tenbin uses CME futures, not custody, to create fast-settling, yield-generating tokens.
- The goal is to make on-chain assets better by improving liquidity and settlement speed.
Galaxy Ventures, the venture capital arm of Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, led a $7 million seed funding round in Tenbin Labs. The New York-based startup develops institutional-grade tokenized assets that closely track real-world prices, settle quickly, and generate yield.
Wintermute Ventures, GSR, Variant, Archetype, and FalconX participated in the round alongside other investors. Tenbin plans to bring gold and foreign exchange currencies to blockchain rails using CME futures for faster and better tokenized asset trading.
šØ Galaxy Digital has led a 7M dollar investment in Tenbin to help build more advanced tokenized gold and FX markets.
— DustyBC Crypto (@TheDustyBC) January 27, 2026
Yuki Yuminaga, co-founder and CEO of Tenbin Labs, argues that many on-chain versions of real-world assets have failed to deliver on the promise of making markets faster and more accessible. Current products offer thin liquidity, slow settlement, and prices that drift from reality.
“We don’t think tokenization is just about putting things onchain,” Yuminaga stated in an interview with CoinDesk. “It’s about making those assets better than they were before ā faster to settle, more liquid, and more usable.“
Rather than rely on custody-based wrappers, Tenbin uses CME futures contracts to anchor pricing and manage exposure. The protocol allows tracking real-world prices more closely, while capturing yield from futures basis: the price difference between futures and spot markets.
Proprietary Hedging System Captures Yields Without Touching Local Banks
The yield passes through to users without requiring direct access to local banks or governments. “We can capture all those yields and offer to the users without even touching the Brazilian bank,” Yuminaga indicated. “All of it is done through our proprietary CME hedging system.“
Tenbin’s design enables fast minting and redemptions, avoids fees under most conditions, and allows token holders to move freely across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. The first assets the firm plans to introduce are gold and emerging market currencies like the Brazilian real and Mexican peso.
Its first product, a tokenized gold asset, is scheduled to launch early this year with support from prime brokers including Hidden Road and StoneX. FX-denominated tokens will follow, offering high-yield carry trade opportunities to onchain users, Yuminaga said.
With interest in alternatives to U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins growing, Tenbin targets what Yuminaga called the next batch of decentralized finance investors interested in “more profitable opportunities than just holding U.S. dollars.”
Carry trade yields in emerging market currencies attract investors seeking returns above dollar rates. The Brazilian real and Mexican peso have historically offered higher interest rates than developed market currencies, creating arbitrage opportunities.
“If we can offer real pricing, instant liquidity and yield in one token,” Yuminaga stated, “that’s where tokenization actually delivers.“
Hidden Road and StoneX provide prime brokerage services that facilitate futures trading and settlement. The partnerships give Tenbin access to institutional-grade infrastructure required for managing derivative positions at scale.
