August Secures $10 Million Funding, Underscoring Institutional Interest in Crypto Market

August Secures $10 Million in Series A Funding

In a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, August, an on-chain prime brokerage and execution platform, has announced the completion of a $10 million Series A funding round. This funding was primarily led by Dragonfly Ventures and also sees significant participation from SCB Limited, 6th Man Ventures, Foresight Ventures, and more. This latest capital acquisition highlights the enduring interest that institutional investors have in the crypto space, with August's reported trading volume surpassing $7 billion.

The funding aims to enhance August's on-chain prime brokerage capabilities, providing a cutting-edge portfolio margin system that allows institutions to utilize locked assets and profitable positions as collateral for structured products, OTC derivatives, and lending. By integrating seamless cross-margining and improving capital efficiency, August enables its clients to hedge DeFi portfolios alongside CeFi tracks—all managed within a single on-chain account.

August currently supports over 12 blockchains, more than 250 tokens, and 70 protocols, streamlining liquidity access for all liquid assets. In a market where tokenization continues to accelerate, August positions itself as a leader by offering capital-efficient infrastructure designed for trading execution that maximizes liquidity and optimizes capital usage.

The platform has already achieved a remarkable monthly transaction volume exceeding $7 billion, covering areas such as lending, DeFi, and OTC transactions, and it successfully managed a credit volume of over $400 million within the past year. This dedication to evolving its services comes in light of the changes in the financial landscape following failures of centralized financial (CeFi) counterparts.

Aya Kantorovich, co-founder and co-CEO of August, stated, "The events of 2022 have demonstrated that more liquidity and volume have been shifted to on-chain solutions, emphasizing the importance of transparency and risk management in the digital financial ecosystem." Meanwhile, fellow co-founder Alexandre Elkrief emphasized that August aims to set a new standard for institution-grade trading of digital assets, where trust is inherently embedded into the infrastructure.

By harnessing the verifiability of on-chain operations, August eliminates many of the hidden risks that have traditionally plagued centralized finance. The platform enables real-time monitoring and mitigation of credit and counterparty risks—offering stakeholders peace of mind in a volatile financial environment.

“FTX and 3AC’s issues were not due to a lack of institutional interest in digital assets,” noted Rob Hadick, General Partner at Dragonfly Capital. “Rather, the failure stemmed from obscured risks and unmanageable counterparty risks. August redefines what risk measurement looks like.”

This new round of funding allows August to further its initiatives in providing real-time risk analytics and programmatic collateral management, thereby pushing transparency to the forefront. As Carl Vogel, General Partner at 6th Man Ventures, states, "We are excited to collaborate with August, the frontrunner in on-chain capital markets. August combines the speed and composability of DeFi with the risk management tools that the world’s leading institutions need. With our investment, these advantages will now be made accessible to the public through the Upshift application, indicating that the future of finance is here."

About August

August positions itself as a leading on-chain prime brokerage and execution platform that allows users to borrow, lend, trade, and settle transactions using any form of liquid collateral across all DeFi and CeFi applications. It supports all essential DeFi functions, including lending, borrowing, cash settlement, OTC options, and derivatives.

This infusion of funds not only strengthens August's operational framework but also represents a turning point in a market where institutional trust is crucial. As digital finance continues to evolve, platforms like August pave the way for sustainable growth and adoption in the crypto sector.