OpenTrade raises £12.5m to power regulated stablecoin yields via curated vaults
This article covers OpenTrade, a fintech startup, raising £12.5m in a growth funding round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z Crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global. OpenTrade says the proceeds will be used to expand its permissioned and permissionless infrastructure, grow the Curation+ investment services and hire across asset management, trading, engineering and customer success, supporting fintechs, exchanges, neobanks and asset issuers offering regulated stablecoin yield products.
OpenTrade has raised £12.5 million in a growth funding round led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z Crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global. The London-based fintech startup provides stablecoin yield infrastructure for fintechs, exchanges and neobanks, allowing partners to offer dollar- and euro-denominated yield products backed by real-world assets — a capability that matters as the stablecoin market tops $300 billion and platforms look for safe, scalable returns without building bespoke custody and investment systems.
Why it matters
Stablecoins now sit at the intersection of traditional finance and crypto markets. As supply surpasses $300 billion, firms that serve retail users, treasuries and institutional clients are under pressure to deliver yields without taking on complex operational overheads. OpenTrade positions itself as an intermediary layer that combines regulated asset management oversight with on-chain distribution, potentially lowering the barrier for firms to bring regulated, diversified yield products to market.
Inside the product
OpenTrade offers plug-and-play infrastructure that supports both permissioned and permissionless distribution. Core features include a permissionless protocol layer and Curation+, a vault curation service that runs multi-asset strategies across real-world assets and on-chain exposures. Non-custodial wallets can direct deposits into OpenTrade-powered vaults while remaining outside the flow of funds, and asset issuers can access decentralised distribution without building their own plumbing.
The platform claims more than $200 million in total value locked and processed over $250 million in transaction volume in 2025, rising to $300 million within the first four months of 2026. OpenTrade says it expects to process roughly $1 billion in transaction volume in 2026. One live integration is Sierra Protocol, which issues a liquid yield token backed by curated strategies combining money market funds, commercial paper and trade finance with on-chain allocations.
Each asset integrated into an OpenTrade vault is reviewed by an investment committee working with an FCA-regulated asset manager. The committee assesses diversification, performance, risk, structure and liquidity to meet institutional risk and reporting requirements.
Who are the investors?
The £12.5 million round was led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, with participation from a16z Crypto, AlbionVC and CMCC Global. OpenTrade says the proceeds will be used to expand its permissioned and permissionless infrastructure, grow the Curation+ investment services, and hire across asset management, trading, engineering and customer success.
In the announcement, Jay Wilson, Partner at AlbionVC, said:
OpenTrade is rapidly becoming the definitive yield infrastructure at the intersection of fiat and digital currencies. Its expansion into permissionless distribution and curated vaults is a natural next step, opening access for asset issuers and treasury managers globally. This fundraise reflects the clear market demand for yield curation and orchestration across TradFi, CeFi, and DeFi markets.
In the announcement, Samantha Lewis, Partner at Mercury, said:
Demand for safe, scalable, stablecoin yield is outpacing what the vast majority of teams can realistically build and manage themselves. OpenTrade abstracts away all complexity associated with the technology, risk management, and execution, giving platforms and treasuries a simple path to well-managed, transparently structured yield products.
In the announcement, Itxaso del Palacio, General Partner at Notion Capital, said:
Starting from yield, Opentrade has a unique opportunity to own the Stablecoin infrastructure layer. This matters now because regulatory clarity is arriving, institutional demand is accelerating, and the rails are still pre-consolidation. The infrastructure gaps that matter most, including compliance and orchestration, treasury and liquidity management, and cross-border B2B payments, remain wide open, and Opentrade is positioned to own them.
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Founder perspective
OpenTrade’s co-founder and CEO framed the raise as a scaling milestone that broadens the company’s addressable market beyond custodial partners to include non-custodial platforms, treasuries and asset issuers.
In the announcement, David Sutter, Co-founder & CEO at OpenTrade, said:
OpenTrade has made it simple for fintechs and neobanks to plug institutional-grade stablecoin yield into their products. As we grew, it became clear that our infrastructure could also serve non-custodial platforms, treasuries, and asset issuers that all need the same thing: a safe, scalable way to connect stablecoins to diversified yield strategies. This raise allows us to scale that infrastructure and support a much broader range of use cases without compromising on risk management or quality of execution.
The bigger picture
OpenTrade sits in a crowded but fragmented market for stablecoin infrastructure, where compliance, custody and orchestration remain major pain points. The startup’s combination of regulated asset review, curated vaults and both permissioned and permissionless distribution speaks to a market seeking intermediaries that bridge TradFi and DeFi practices. The participation of established fintech and crypto investors indicates continued appetite from fintech investors for infrastructure plays that can serve multiple channels — apps, exchanges and treasury operations.
The fundraise also highlights how UK-based fintech ventures are evolving to address cross-border digital asset demand while navigating emerging regulatory regimes across Europe and the US. As regulatory clarity grows, infrastructure providers that can demonstrate robust risk frameworks and institutional governance may find broader adoption among traditional finance players and crypto-native firms alike.
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