Theo Network raises $20 million backed by Wall Street firms

Theo, a provider of onchain trading infrastructure, has secured $20 million in funding from 17 investors, including angel investors from Citadel, Jane Street, IMC, and JPMorgan, the company announced on April 24.

The funding round was co-led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital, with participation from Manifold Trading, Miranda Ventures, Flowdesk, MEXC, and Amber Group.

Founded by former quantitative traders, Theo aims to offer retail investors access to advanced trading strategies such as high-frequency trading and market making, typically used by professional firms.

Theo’s infrastructure supports both centralised exchanges and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols.

As of April 23, the Theo network holds nearly $29 million in total value locked (TVL), though this figure has declined from its peak in February, according to DefiLlama data.

Theo is part of a growing group of blockchain projects working to bridge the gap between institutional finance and retail investors.

Other companies active in this space include Polygon (CRYPTO:MATIC), Fireblocks, Ondo Finance, Lido, and BloFin.

Institutional involvement in digital assets has increased in recent years, driven by factors such as Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) exchange-traded funds, real-world asset tokenisation, onchain lending, and the growing use of stablecoins.

Credit rating agency Moody’s has noted that blockchain-based secondary markets can reduce inefficiencies and lower barriers to asset ownership.

A recent survey by Coinbase and EY-Parthenon found that most institutional investors plan to increase their crypto allocations in 2025.

The survey also indicated that 75% of institutions expect to become active users of decentralised finance within two years.