Weekly Funding Signal
Stablecoin payments and compliant on-chain finance infrastructure dominated this week's Asia-relevant funding, highlighted by Trace Finance's $32 million round for APAC expansion, Karta's $140 million round backed by Galaxy Ventures, and K25.ai's $10 million pre-A for an APAC prediction market.
Key Deals
| Project | Sector | Amount | Investors | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trace Finance | Stablecoin Payments | $32 million (Series A) | Led by CoinFund; Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Capital, Paxos, Chainlink Labs, HOF Capital | APAC expansion plans signal growing demand for stablecoin cross-border rails in the region's $10B+ remittance corridors. |
| Karta | Credit/Payments (CeFi) | $140 million (Series A) | Co-led by Galaxy Ventures and CIM | Asia's high-net-worth individuals gain access to US-issued cards using stablecoin-backed underwriting, bridging traditional wealth management and crypto. |
| K25.ai | AI Prediction Market | $10 million (Pre-A) | NewGenIVF Group (Nasdaq: NIVF) | Exclusive APAC agency rights granted; targets regulated expansion in Asian markets where licensed prediction platforms are scarce. |
| El Dorado | Cross-border Payments | $9 million (Series A) | Led by Paradigm; Coinbase Ventures, Verda Ventures | Already serves Chinese EV importers using stablecoin rails, underscoring LatAm-Asia trade corridor's crypto adoption. |
| Renaiss | RWA / Collectibles Infrastructure | $1.5 million | Led by YZi Labs; Gate Ventures, Hash Global, XIN Family | Builds on BNB Chain with strong Asian user base (260k+); tokenizes physical collectibles custody—a new RWA subclass. |
| MANTRA | RWA Tokenization Chain | Acquisition (strategic) | Inveniam Capital Partners | MANTRA's Dubai VASP license and NVNM Chain for compliant AI agents position it at the intersection of Middle East regulation and institutional RWA. |
Builder to Watch
Trace Finance: Already processing over $10 billion in institutional cross-border transactions, Trace is expanding its stablecoin settlement network into Asia-Pacific. Its investment from CoinFund and notable angels like Circle's co-founder and Itaú Unibanco's vice chairman signals confidence in stablecoin-based B2B payments. The move into APAC could challenge traditional SWIFT corridors by offering near-instant settlement for trade finance and remittance flows, particularly in markets like Singapore and the Philippines. K25.ai: With a $10 million pre-A round and exclusive APAC rights held by a NASDAQ-listed company, K25.ai is positioning itself as a regulated AI-powered prediction market for Asian users. Unlike Polymarket's global, often unlicensed approach, K25.ai is navigating local regulatory approvals before launch—potentially setting a precedent for compliant information markets in jurisdictions like Japan or South Korea. Its valuation of $100 million pre-product underscores investor appetite for regulated, AI-native financial entertainment platforms.
Capital Flow
- Stablecoin payments and compliant on-chain finance are heating up, evidenced by Trace's $32M round for APAC and Karta's $140M round with stablecoin-backed credit underwriting.
- Active capital players include CoinFund (leading Trace), Galaxy Ventures (co-leading Karta), YZi Labs (leading Renaiss), and Paradigm (leading El Dorado). Asian funds like Gate Ventures and Hash Global also participated.
- Regions deserving attention: Latin America-Asia payment corridors (El Dorado serving Chinese importers), Middle East/North Africa (MANTRA's Dubai VASP license and acquisition by Inveniam), and BNB Chain-based Asian projects (Renaiss's user growth).
- Founders and BD leads should note the convergence of stablecoins with real-world credit and compliance—funds are backing infrastructure that bridges crypto rails with traditional finance regulations, especially for cross-border B2B and wealth management.
PANews View
This week's deals reflect a maturation of stablecoin use cases beyond simple transfers: Trace and Karta are embedding stablecoins into credit and trade finance, while El Dorado connects LatAm and Asia via EV imports. However, the absence of pure DeFi infrastructure funding in Asia this week suggests capital is pivoting toward regulated, revenue-generating applications. The MANTRA acquisition by a strategic investor after prior funding hints at consolidation in RWA tokenization—possibly a signal that the license-heavy, compliance-first model may outlast general-purpose RWA protocols.
