Gauntlet has raised $125 million in a Series C funding round backed solely by Japan’s SBI Holdings, giving the crypto yield curator fresh capital to expand its role in decentralized finance and stablecoin markets at a time when large financial groups are moving deeper into digital asset infrastructure.
The financing was made through SBI’s U.S. subsidiary and will support Gauntlet’s expansion into stablecoin markets tied to currencies beyond the U.S. dollar and euro, including the Mexican peso and Japanese yen. Gauntlet also plans to develop new onchain financial products and use artificial intelligence tools to scale operations and improve risk management.
The deal marks another major push by SBI into institutional digital asset services. It follows a $76 million capital injection by the Japanese financial group into another institutional crypto platform earlier in the week and comes as SBI continues to build a broader presence across regulated digital asset markets.
Gauntlet did not disclose its valuation after the latest round. The company was last valued at $1 billion in 2022, when it raised $23.8 million in a Series B round led by Ribbit Capital.
Founded in 2018 as a blockchain analytics firm, Gauntlet has grown into a platform that helps financial institutions allocate capital across decentralized finance, or DeFi, markets. The company provides risk modeling, optimization tools and yield curation services for onchain financial products. It currently manages more than $1.5 billion in curated assets across about 150 fintech and institutional partners.
Chief Executive Officer Tarun Chitra said the funding will help Gauntlet accelerate global expansion and build infrastructure for blockchain-based financial markets. He said SBI’s experience across traditional finance and digital assets would support Gauntlet’s effort to connect institutional participants with onchain markets.
SBI said the deal fits its strategy of linking conventional financial services with blockchain-based systems as adoption of digital assets broadens. The company cited clearer policy frameworks in the United States, including stablecoin and market structure legislation, as factors that could support further development of digital finance.
Stablecoin expansion beyond the dollar
Gauntlet’s planned expansion into non-dollar stablecoin markets is a central part of the funding round. Stablecoins remain one of the most active areas of the digital asset sector because they are designed to maintain a fixed value against fiat currencies or other reference assets, making them useful for payments, trading, settlement and DeFi activity.
Most stablecoin activity today is still heavily concentrated in U.S. dollar-linked assets. Dollar-backed stablecoins dominate global supply and are widely used as liquidity instruments across crypto markets. However, financial firms, payment companies and blockchain platforms are increasingly exploring stablecoins linked to local currencies as digital asset adoption spreads beyond dollar-based markets.
Gauntlet’s focus on the Mexican peso and Japanese yen points to that shift. Peso-linked stablecoins could support payment corridors between the United States, Mexico and Latin America, where remittance flows and cross-border commerce are significant. Yen-linked stablecoins could become more relevant as Japan develops a regulated domestic framework for tokenized deposits, payment stablecoins and blockchain-based settlement.
For Gauntlet, expanding stablecoin coverage means building risk systems that can account for factors such as liquidity, collateral quality, foreign exchange exposure, interest-rate conditions, redemption arrangements and local regulatory requirements. These factors are especially important for institutions entering DeFi markets, where automated protocols can move capital quickly but may also expose users to smart contract, market and liquidity risks.
The new funding gives Gauntlet more room to build tools for this environment. The company’s business model is based on helping institutions deploy capital into DeFi strategies while assessing risk in real time. As stablecoins become more diverse by currency and geography, demand for specialized risk infrastructure is likely to rise.
SBI deepens its digital asset strategy
SBI’s role as the sole backer of the Series C round gives the transaction added significance. The Japanese financial group has spent years building exposure to digital assets, crypto infrastructure, blockchain-based payment systems and tokenization. Its latest deal with Gauntlet suggests a broader plan to support the financial plumbing behind digital asset markets rather than focusing only on trading venues or consumer-facing products.
The timing is notable. SBI recently provided $76 million in financing to an institutional crypto platform and has also been tied to efforts to expand its presence in regulated digital asset services in Japan and abroad. The group’s interest in yen-based stablecoin development also makes Gauntlet’s expansion plans strategically relevant.
Japan has taken a comparatively structured approach to stablecoin regulation. Legal changes in the country established rules for stablecoin issuance, including requirements around licensed entities and redemption rights. That framework has encouraged banks, trust companies and financial technology firms to explore yen-denominated digital money products.
For SBI, backing Gauntlet could help create infrastructure that supports these products once they move into broader use. Stablecoins need more than issuance. They require liquidity management, risk monitoring, integration with DeFi protocols, compliance controls and institutional-grade reporting. Gauntlet’s role in yield curation and risk modeling fits into that broader need.
The deal also reflects a wider trend among large financial firms. Rather than treating digital assets as a stand-alone market, more firms are looking at blockchain rails as potential extensions of payment networks, capital markets, fund administration and settlement systems. That shift has placed more attention on companies that can provide risk frameworks, data infrastructure and operational controls.
From analytics firm to defi infrastructure provider
Gauntlet began as a blockchain analytics company focused on modeling decentralized networks. Over time, it moved toward DeFi risk management, helping protocols and institutions understand how liquidity, collateral and market behavior affect onchain systems.
That evolution reflects changes in DeFi itself. In its early years, DeFi was driven mostly by crypto-native users experimenting with lending, borrowing, liquidity pools and automated market makers. As the sector matured, larger entities began asking whether blockchain-based financial applications could be used for more formal capital allocation, treasury management and structured products.
Gauntlet positioned itself in that gap. The company works with onchain protocols and institutional partners to design and manage strategies that aim to balance yield opportunities with risk controls. Its services can include parameter recommendations for lending markets, collateral analysis, liquidity assessments and portfolio optimization.
Managing more than $1.5 billion in curated assets gives the company a meaningful footprint in DeFi, though the sector remains volatile and highly sensitive to market cycles. Digital asset prices, protocol activity and stablecoin liquidity can shift quickly, making risk management a core requirement for any institution entering the market.
The additional capital from SBI allows Gauntlet to expand its product set at a time when tokenized assets, stablecoins and onchain credit markets are receiving renewed attention. While DeFi activity has gone through sharp booms and downturns, the underlying technology continues to attract firms interested in faster settlement, programmable transactions and more transparent market infrastructure.
Artificial intelligence to support risk systems
Gauntlet also plans to use artificial intelligence tools to scale its operations. The company has not provided detailed technical plans, but AI can be applied across several areas of onchain finance, including risk monitoring, anomaly detection, liquidity forecasting, portfolio optimization and automated reporting.
In digital asset markets, risk systems must process large amounts of data from public blockchains, trading venues, smart contracts and external financial markets. AI models can help identify unusual activity, stress-test market conditions and flag potential vulnerabilities before they become larger problems.
The use of AI in financial services is growing, but it also brings governance challenges. Firms using AI for capital allocation or compliance must be able to explain how models work, test them against biased or inaccurate outputs and ensure they do not create hidden operational risks. For onchain finance, these requirements may be even more important because blockchain transactions can be irreversible and market conditions can change rapidly.
Gauntlet’s ability to combine blockchain data, financial modeling and AI-driven monitoring could become a competitive advantage if institutions continue to move capital onto blockchain rails. However, the effectiveness of those systems will depend on transparency, reliability and controls around model behavior.
Regulation becomes a larger factor
SBI’s statement pointed to improving regulatory clarity as part of the rationale for its digital asset strategy. In the United States, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, known as the GENIUS Act, created a federal framework for payment stablecoins. The law set rules for reserve backing, redemption and oversight, giving stablecoin issuers and financial institutions a clearer path for operating in the market.
The Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, known as the CLARITY Act, has also been viewed as an effort to address long-running jurisdictional questions between U.S. financial regulators. Market participants have sought clearer lines between securities and commodities rules for digital assets, arguing that uncertainty has slowed product development and institutional adoption.
Clearer rules are important for companies such as Gauntlet because institutional clients generally require defined legal, compliance and risk standards before committing capital. DeFi protocols have often operated in a gray area, where technology evolved faster than regulation. That gap made it difficult for banks, asset managers and fintech firms to participate at scale.
Stablecoin regulation may be especially important. Stablecoins are widely used in crypto markets, but their growing role in payments and settlement has drawn the attention of policymakers. Requirements for high-quality reserves, regular disclosures and redemption rights could make the sector more acceptable to traditional financial institutions while also raising the bar for issuers and service providers.
For Gauntlet, a more defined regulatory environment could increase demand for risk infrastructure. Institutions looking to enter onchain markets will need tools that help them evaluate protocols, monitor exposures and demonstrate compliance with internal and external standards.
Defi and tokenization remain key growth areas
The funding comes as decentralized finance and tokenized real-world assets continue to draw attention from financial firms. DeFi protocols allow users to lend, borrow, trade and earn yield through smart contracts, while tokenization involves representing assets such as bonds, funds, credit instruments or cash equivalents on blockchains.
Supporters of tokenization argue that blockchain systems can improve settlement speed, reduce operational friction and make financial products more programmable. Critics remain concerned about legal enforceability, cybersecurity, liquidity fragmentation and the reliability of smart contracts.
Gauntlet operates in the middle of these debates. Its business is not based on issuing a specific token or running a consumer trading app. Instead, it provides infrastructure that attempts to make onchain financial activity more measurable and manageable. That role may become more important if tokenized assets and stablecoins continue to expand.
Traditional finance firms entering these markets are unlikely to rely only on public dashboards or basic analytics. They need risk systems that resemble those used in conventional markets, including stress testing, scenario analysis, audit trails and governance processes. Gauntlet is seeking to provide those services for the blockchain environment.
A funding round with strategic implications
The $125 million Series C round gives Gauntlet a stronger balance sheet and a major strategic partner as it expands beyond its original U.S. and euro-focused stablecoin coverage. The company’s next phase will likely involve deeper work with local-currency stablecoins, onchain yield products and institutional risk tools.
For SBI, the deal strengthens its position in digital asset infrastructure and aligns with its interest in regulated stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain-based finance. By backing a risk management and yield curation platform, SBI is investing in the systems that could support broader adoption rather than only the front-end venues where digital assets change hands.
The transaction also shows how the digital asset market is becoming more specialized. As the sector matures, traders and institutions are demanding stronger infrastructure, clearer rules and better risk controls. Companies that can provide those services may play a larger role in shaping how capital moves between traditional finance and blockchain-based markets.
Gauntlet’s challenge will be to turn the new funding into durable products that can operate across currencies, jurisdictions and market cycles. Its opportunity is that stablecoins, DeFi and tokenized assets are no longer viewed only as experimental crypto products. They are increasingly being considered as parts of a broader financial infrastructure that requires the same discipline, risk management and operational reliability as conventional markets.
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