OpenTrade, a stablecoin yield platform targeting institutional investors, raised $17 million in strategic funding led by Mercury Fund and Notion Capital, bringing total funding to $30 million. The raise comes as the company scales tokenized vaults that allocate capital across real-world assets (RWAs) and decentralized finance strategies, while navigating regulatory scrutiny around stablecoin yield mechanisms in the US.
Building Institutional Stablecoin Infrastructure
OpenTrade operates a securities lending-inspired model adapted for stablecoins, routing deposits into tokenized vaults that manage capital allocation across RWAs and DeFi protocols. The platform targets institutional investors and fintech clients globally, positioning itself as an infrastructure layer for stablecoin yield rather than a consumer product. CEO David Sutter stated the company plans to expand its asset management and trading team, increase engineering capacity, and build a dedicated customer success function. OpenTrade was founded in 2023 and has raised progressively larger rounds: $4 million seed round in November 2024, followed by a $7 million strategic round in June 2025.
Scaling Across RWAs and DeFi
OpenTrade surpassed $200 million in total value locked (TVL) by April 2026, signaling institutional adoption of its vault infrastructure. The platform’s model differs from direct stablecoin yield products by routing deposits into managed strategies rather than offering passive yield on idle balances. Mercury Fund and Notion Capital led the $17 million round, with earlier backing from a16z Crypto, Circle Ventures, and Polygon Ventures. Sutter cited regulatory tailwinds for the stablecoin industry, noting that conditions will be conducive to continued growth. The company’s founding team includes co-founder Jeff Handler, and the leadership has prior experience at Centre, the Circle and Coinbase consortium behind USDC.
CLARITY Act Shapes Stablecoin Yield Rules
The Senate Banking Committee is debating the CLARITY Act, which would permit usage-based rewards like cashback and discounts on stablecoins but prohibit yield on idle balances. OpenTrade’s vault-based approach sidesteps this restriction by actively allocating capital rather than paying passive yield, positioning the model as compliant with the emerging regulatory framework. The compromise reflects ongoing tension between enabling stablecoin utility and preventing yield products that resemble uninsured deposit accounts. OpenTrade’s infrastructure-first positioning may provide regulatory clarity advantages compared to consumer-facing yield protocols.
Next Milestones for Institutional Growth
The $17 million round funds expansion of trading, engineering, and customer success teams as OpenTrade scales institutional client adoption. Key variables include the Senate Banking Committee’s timeline for CLARITY Act passage and whether the final rule’s definition of “usage-based rewards” extends to vault-based capital allocation models. OpenTrade’s $30 million total funding and $200 million TVL indicate strong institutional demand, but regulatory clarity on stablecoin yield mechanisms remains unresolved.
