Key Takeaways
- • Gauntlet, a DeFi infrastructure startup founded in 2018, closed a $125 million Series C funding round led exclusively by Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings in June 2026—the largest capital infusion in the company's history.
- • The round significantly exceeds Gauntlet's Series B in 2022, when the startup raised $24 million at a $1 billion valuation led by Ribbit Capital; the new round valuation was not disclosed.
- • SBI Holdings, worth over $10 billion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and spun off from SoftBank in 1999, is one of the most active institutional investors in digital assets, with existing stakes in Morpho, Ripple, and Circle.
- • SBI's investment reflects broader institutional adoption of crypto infrastructure despite market headwinds, with Kefei Lin, general manager at SBI, citing regulatory clarity and a "pro-crypto, pro-innovation, pro-competition environment" as drivers for increased U.S. investment activities.
- • The capital infusion arrives as traditional financial institutions—including NYSE parent company, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley—accelerate crypto integration, signaling institutional-grade infrastructure demand across digital asset management.
Summary
Gauntlet, a decentralized finance platform specializing in digital asset allocation and risk management for institutions and crypto firms, has secured $125 million in Series C funding from SBI Holdings, the Japanese financial conglomerate announced in June 2026. The funding round, led exclusively by SBI with no other participants, represents the largest capital deployment into Gauntlet since the company's founding in 2018. Founder and CEO Tarun Chitra declined to disclose the valuation at which the capital was raised.
The investment dwarfs Gauntlet's previous fundraising milestone—a Series B in 2022 that raised $24 million at a $1 billion valuation led by prominent fintech investor Ribbit Capital. This trajectory reflects accelerating institutional demand for sophisticated DeFi infrastructure as traditional finance institutions deepen their cryptocurrency exposure.
SBI Holdings, spun off from SoftBank in 1999 and now fully independent, has positioned itself as a leading institutional player in digital assets. The company, valued at over $10 billion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has made strategic investments across the crypto ecosystem, including stakes in the crypto lender Morpho, blockchain company Ripple, and stablecoin issuer Circle. Kefei Lin, general manager at SBI, attributed the firm's expanded investment thesis to regulatory clarity, telling Fortune: "I really think this year SBI will increase our investment activities and even operational activities in the U.S., because of the clarity on regulation and pro-crypto, pro-innovation, pro-competition environment."
SBI's significant capital deployment into Gauntlet reflects a broader institutional pivot toward digital assets despite current market headwinds and depressed token valuations. The investment follows a series of major crypto initiatives from traditional finance incumbents: in June 2026, the New York Stock Exchange's parent company established a joint venture with crypto exchange OKX, Citigroup launched tokenized bank deposits on blockchain infrastructure, and Morgan Stanley integrated crypto trading capabilities into its retail brokerage platform. These moves underscore accelerating demand for institutional-grade risk management and yield infrastructure within decentralized finance markets.
The investment dwarfs Gauntlet's previous fundraising milestone—a Series B in 2022 that raised $24 million at a $1 billion valuation led by prominent fintech investor Ribbit Capital. This trajectory reflects accelerating institutional demand for sophisticated DeFi infrastructure as traditional finance institutions deepen their cryptocurrency exposure.
SBI Holdings, spun off from SoftBank in 1999 and now fully independent, has positioned itself as a leading institutional player in digital assets. The company, valued at over $10 billion on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, has made strategic investments across the crypto ecosystem, including stakes in the crypto lender Morpho, blockchain company Ripple, and stablecoin issuer Circle. Kefei Lin, general manager at SBI, attributed the firm's expanded investment thesis to regulatory clarity, telling Fortune: "I really think this year SBI will increase our investment activities and even operational activities in the U.S., because of the clarity on regulation and pro-crypto, pro-innovation, pro-competition environment."
SBI's significant capital deployment into Gauntlet reflects a broader institutional pivot toward digital assets despite current market headwinds and depressed token valuations. The investment follows a series of major crypto initiatives from traditional finance incumbents: in June 2026, the New York Stock Exchange's parent company established a joint venture with crypto exchange OKX, Citigroup launched tokenized bank deposits on blockchain infrastructure, and Morgan Stanley integrated crypto trading capabilities into its retail brokerage platform. These moves underscore accelerating demand for institutional-grade risk management and yield infrastructure within decentralized finance markets.
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