TL;DR
- Funding milestone: OpenTrade raised $17 million, lifting total funding above $30 million and supporting its expansion into new global markets.
- Product expansion: The company is scaling its permissionless protocol layer and Curation+ framework to deliver regulated, diversified yield strategies across real‑world and onchain assets.
- Market momentum: The company surpassed $200 million in total value locked and expects transaction volume to top $1 billion by 2026 as stablecoin markets continue to grow.
London-based OpenTrade has raised $17 million in fresh capital as the company prepares to scale its infrastructure and broaden its reach across global markets. The new round brings total funding to more than $30 million and reinforces growing institutional demand for onchain and real‑world asset‑backed lending products. OpenTrade said the investment will support its push into new regions and strengthen its position in a rapidly expanding sector.
1/ OpenTrade has raised $17M in a strategic round, bringing total capital raised to over $30M. Led by @mercuryfund and NotionCapital, with participation from @a16zcrypto, @AlbionVC, and @CMCC_Global. pic.twitter.com/duWTADKzjA
— OpenTrade (@opentrade_io) May 6, 2026
Strategic Backing Fuels OpenTrade’s Global Ambitions
The round was led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z crypto, AlbionVC, and CMCC Global. OpenTrade said the funding will accelerate development across both permissioned and permissionless systems. The company positions itself as an institutional‑grade platform offering lending and stablecoin yield products tied to real‑world and onchain assets. With this raise, OpenTrade aims to deepen its infrastructure and expand its market footprint.
Curation+ and Protocol Layer Drive Product Expansion
A major focus of the expansion is OpenTrade’s permissionless protocol layer and its Curation+ framework. The company said Curation+ is designed to structure yield strategies for fintechs, neobanks, treasuries, and asset issuers. Unlike typical decentralized finance vault curators that emphasize protocol selection, Curation+ uses regulated asset management oversight to build portfolios across real‑world assets and onchain instruments. OpenTrade said this approach enables more robust and diversified yield strategies.
Position‑Tracking Tokens Unlock New Distribution Channels
OpenTrade said its permissionless infrastructure allows traditional and onchain issuers to access decentralized distribution through position‑tracking tokens without needing proprietary systems. This model is already live through Sierra Protocol, where the SIERRA liquid yield token is backed by curated vaults holding money market funds, commercial paper, and trade finance. The company said this structure provides a transparent and scalable way to distribute yield products globally.
Growth Momentum Builds as Market Demand Rises
The firm plans to expand its asset management and trading team, increase engineering capacity, and build a dedicated customer success function. The company said its total value locked surpassed $200 million last year and expects transaction volume to exceed $1 billion by the end of 2026 after reaching more than $250 million in 2025. Meanwhile, stablecoin supply has climbed above $302 billion, with USDT and USDC dominating the market.
