Key Takeaways
- • Gate Ventures participated in a $4 million financing round for 3F, a vault protocol built on Morpho that enables leveraged exposure to tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) through automated "one-click" operations.
- • 3F's funding structure consisted of a $750,000 pre-seed round (July–November 2025) and a $3.3 million seed round (November 2025–March 2026), led by Maven 11 and including institutional investors F-Prime (Fidelity-affiliated), Susquehanna Crypto, and GSR.
- • The protocol automates the "looping" process—historically complex in RWA markets due to settlement delays—by coordinating bridge financing, collateral deposits on Morpho, and stablecoin borrowing in a single transaction, expected to launch in Q2 2026.
- • Maven 11's Mathijs van Esch secured an observer seat on 3F's board; notable pre-seed backers included Rune Christensen (Sky/MakerDAO co-founder) and Sam MacPherson (Spark protocol co-founder), signaling strong support from DeFi infrastructure leaders.
- • The funding round demonstrates institutional appetite for RWA leverage solutions at a time when decentralized finance is expanding access to tokenized alternative assets including real estate and other traditional collateral classes.
Summary
3F, a vault protocol built on the decentralized lending platform Morpho, has closed a $4 million financing round aimed at simplifying leveraged investment in tokenized real-world assets. Gate Ventures participated in the seed round alongside lead investor Maven 11, F-Prime (the venture affiliate of Fidelity Investments' parent company FMR, LLC), Susquehanna Crypto, and GSR. The funding was structured in two tranches: a $750,000 pre-seed round that ran from July to November 2025, followed by a $3.3 million seed round spanning November 2025 through March 2026. Both rounds were issued as simple agreements for future equity (SAFEs) with token warrants on a one-to-one equity-to-token conversion basis.
According to 3F co-founder Sonya Kim, the protocol addresses a critical gap in RWA financing by automating the "looping" process—a repetitive series of asset purchases, collateral pledges, borrowing, and reinvestment steps that remains cumbersome in real-world asset markets. The platform enables users to select a supported RWA and leverage multiple, after which the protocol handles the entire position-building workflow: sourcing short-term bridge financing to acquire the underlying asset, depositing it as collateral on Morpho, and borrowing stablecoins to repay the bridge loan. This automation is particularly valuable in RWA scenarios, where settlement delays and operational complexity typically make such iterations impractical compared to pure crypto assets that benefit from flash loans.
The investor roster reflects strong institutional confidence in 3F's approach. Maven 11 general partner Mathijs van Esch accepted an observer position on 3F's board. Pre-seed investors included Steakhouse Financial, Rune Christensen (co-founder of Sky, formerly MakerDAO), and Sam MacPherson (co-founder of Phoenix Labs and the Spark protocol), underscoring backing from established DeFi infrastructure developers and alternative asset specialists. 3F is expected to launch officially in the second quarter of 2026, positioning itself as the market's appetite for tokenized alternative assets—particularly real estate and other non-crypto collateral—continues to expand within decentralized finance.
According to 3F co-founder Sonya Kim, the protocol addresses a critical gap in RWA financing by automating the "looping" process—a repetitive series of asset purchases, collateral pledges, borrowing, and reinvestment steps that remains cumbersome in real-world asset markets. The platform enables users to select a supported RWA and leverage multiple, after which the protocol handles the entire position-building workflow: sourcing short-term bridge financing to acquire the underlying asset, depositing it as collateral on Morpho, and borrowing stablecoins to repay the bridge loan. This automation is particularly valuable in RWA scenarios, where settlement delays and operational complexity typically make such iterations impractical compared to pure crypto assets that benefit from flash loans.
The investor roster reflects strong institutional confidence in 3F's approach. Maven 11 general partner Mathijs van Esch accepted an observer position on 3F's board. Pre-seed investors included Steakhouse Financial, Rune Christensen (co-founder of Sky, formerly MakerDAO), and Sam MacPherson (co-founder of Phoenix Labs and the Spark protocol), underscoring backing from established DeFi infrastructure developers and alternative asset specialists. 3F is expected to launch officially in the second quarter of 2026, positioning itself as the market's appetite for tokenized alternative assets—particularly real estate and other non-crypto collateral—continues to expand within decentralized finance.
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