Liquid Raises $7.6 Million in Seed Funding to Expand Mobile-First Decentralized Trading Platform
Liquid, a New York City–based financial technology startup blending mobile trading, yield generation and artificial intelligence, has raised $7.6 million in a seed funding round aimed at accelerating the expansion of its perpetual decentralized exchange aggregation platform. The funding was secured in late 2025 and marks a major early milestone for the company as it seeks to redefine how traders interact with decentralized finance markets.
The round was led by Paradigm, a prominent crypto-focused investment firm known for backing blockchain and Web3 startups. Paradigm’s involvement highlights continued institutional interest in decentralized finance infrastructure despite broader market volatility. General Catalyst, a global venture capital firm with investments across fintech, enterprise software and consumer technology, also participated in the round, alongside a group of angel investors.
Individual contributors to the seed financing included angels Ashwin Ramachandran, Eric Wu, and Vlad Novakovski, as well as the investment collective smartestmoney.hl. While smaller in size than institutional commitments, these angel investors bring strategic insight and industry expertise that can support Liquid’s product development and market positioning during its early growth phase.
Liquid was founded by Franklyn Wang, a former Two Sigma AI scientist, and is building a perpetual decentralized exchange aggregator designed to unify multiple decentralized trading venues within a single non-custodial interface. The platform allows users to manage and execute trades across venues without switching applications or wallets, addressing a common friction point in decentralized trading. Shortly after launch, the platform processed more than $500 million in trading volume, signaling strong early adoption.
The company’s product is currently available on iOS and Android, with a web version under development. The mobile-first approach combines order execution, yield optimization and AI-powered insights, with the goal of making advanced decentralized trading tools more accessible to a wider audience. Liquid has stated that the newly raised capital will be used primarily to expand its engineering team, accelerate product development and scale user acquisition across the United States and international markets.
Operating in a competitive fintech and crypto landscape, Liquid differentiates itself through its focus on perpetual contracts and seamless aggregation of decentralized liquidity. Demand for perpetual trading products has continued to grow within decentralized finance, and Liquid aims to capture users who have traditionally relied on centralized exchanges or fragmented DeFi tools. The company’s emphasis on usability and AI-driven enhancements is intended to lower the barrier to entry for both retail and more experienced traders.
The seed round comes amid a broader trend of venture capital flowing into crypto-native infrastructure projects. While regulatory uncertainty and macroeconomic pressures continue to shape the sector, investors remain willing to back early-stage companies that demonstrate clear utility, strong early traction and scalable technology. Liquid’s early trading volumes and integrated approach appear to have resonated with this investor appetite.
With backing from Paradigm and General Catalyst, Liquid is now positioned to move into its next phase of growth. The company plans to continue refining its platform, expanding protocol integrations and enhancing its AI capabilities as it competes in the fast-evolving decentralized finance ecosystem. Market observers will be watching closely as Liquid leverages its seed funding to build momentum and establish itself as a key player in decentralized perpetual trading.
