Ground raises $3.6M pre-seed to help fintechs access onchain yield
There’s a quiet problem in fintech right now. Billions of dollars sit idle in platforms that could, in theory, be earning yield through decentralized finance protocols. But actually connecting those platforms to onchain lending and staking products requires custom blockchain engineering that most fintechs simply don’t want to build.
Ground, a startup that emerged from stealth on June 24, thinks it has the answer: an API that lets fintechs, neobanks, wealth managers, and asset managers plug into onchain yield products without touching blockchain infrastructure themselves. The company raised $3.6 million in a pre-seed round co-led by Bain Capital Crypto and ParaFi, with participation from Nascent, Robot Ventures, Chapter One, and Consonant Ventures.
What Ground actually does
The company currently supports several major DeFi protocols, including Aave, Morpho, Maple, and Kamino. These span Ethereum, Solana, and various Layer 2 networks, giving clients access to a range of yield sources across multiple chains.
The business model runs on usage-based fees, meaning Ground earns more as its clients route more capital through the platform.
The team and the Superstate connection
Ground was co-founded by Reid Cuming, who previously co-founded Superstate, the tokenized fund platform that went on to raise $82.5 million in its Series B. Cuming hasn’t fully departed Superstate. He still serves as a board member and senior advisor there, though he’s stepped back from day-to-day operations to focus on Ground.
Right now, Ground operates with just three full-time employees. The company plans to hire more staff to keep up with what it sees as growing demand for this kind of middleware.
The funding round itself was structured as a SAFE with token warrants. Fundraising started in September 2025 and the round closed in October 2025, giving the team roughly eight months of building before the public launch.
Why this matters now
Most crypto-native yield aggregators were designed for DeFi users who already have wallets and understand the risks. They weren’t built for regulated financial platforms that need audit trails, KYC integration, and the ability to explain to a compliance officer exactly where yield is coming from. Ground is explicitly targeting that gap.
The global asset management industry manages roughly $147 trillion in assets. Even a tiny fraction of that capital flowing into onchain yield products would represent a massive shift in how traditional finance interacts with decentralized protocols.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Once frenzied buying, now the "ammunition warehouse" shrinks by 51 trillion KRW! Korean retail investors can no longer afford to buy
In four months, Korean retail investors' "ammunition stockpile" has dropped by 36.5%, returning to levels seen at the beginning of the year. Although retail investors have collectively made net purchases exceeding 75 trillion won, they are still absorbing the sell-off, but the influx of new funds has dried up, and the replenishment rate lags far behind the consumption rate. Combined with the KOSPI plunging nearly 20% this month, continued net selling by foreign investors, and concerns over AI-related credit risks, the Korean stock market may find it difficult to see a sustained rebound in the short term without support from private investors' funds.
Apple Prints TD Sequential Sell 9 — Last Two Led to 15.66% and 13.63% Corrections
The Collapse of "Consensus Trading" and the Birth of a New Consensus! Goldman Sachs Explains: Why Institutions Are Currently Significantly Reducing AI Holdings
The extremely crowded trade of "going long on AI, short on everything else" is undergoing a painful unwinding—markets are no longer satisfied with the "burn rate narrative." Mega-scale cloud providers must deliver real, visible revenue conversions alongside $1.1 trillion in capital expenditures. A power gap of 40-50 gigawatts, rising capital costs, and a macro paradigm shift from an era of "overspending" are turning AI trades from a matter of faith into a harsh test of monetization.
Starknet TVL crashes 3.7x to $42M after getting 93% vote to become L1
Crypto prices
More
