Theo, a leading provider of onchain trading services, has recently secured a $20 million investment from 17 different investors. This fundraising will be used to upgrade their trading platform built for retail investors. Co-led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, this funding round also saw input from several venture capital firms including Manifold Trading, Miranda Ventures, Flowdesk, MEXC and Amber Group. Citadel, Jane Street, IMC and JPMorgan also contributed as angel investors.
Theo was developed by former quant traders. Its main objective is to offer retail investors access to advanced strategies that are usually accessible only to professional trading firms, such as high-frequency trading and market making.
Centralized exchanges and decentralized financing protocols can both utilize Theo’s infrastructure. As of April 23, Theo network has secured nearly $29 million in total value locked, as per industry data.
Blockchain protocols such as Theo aim to minimize the divide between institutional and retail finance. Other blockchain companies such as Polygon, Fireblocks, Ondo Finance, Lido, and BloFin continue to play crucial roles in this field.
Meanwhile, there is strong empirical evidence to suggest that Wall Street is also acclimating to the world of crypto. After much speculation, institutional involvement in digital assets has now become reality owing to the influx of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, the increasing popularity of onchain lending, the tokenization of real-world assets, and the rise of stablecoins as an investment method.
According to Moody’s, a credit rating agency, secondary markets on blockchain can streamline the investment process by eliminating inefficiencies and easing difficulties to asset ownership. Based on these trends, a survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon revealed that most institutional investors plan to expand their crypto investments this year. The survey also predicted that three-quarters of the institutions could be active DeFi users within the next two years.