Blockchain is gradually reshaping the way global capital markets invest, and the startup HelloTrade, founded by senior executives from BlackRock's cryptocurrency division, has officially entered the fray. The company recently announced the completion of $4.6 million in seed round financing, aiming to break geographical and institutional barriers, allowing global users to easily participate in leveraged stock and diverse asset trading.
HelloTrade quickly completes fundraising, led by Dragonfly
HelloTrade announced the completion of $4.6 million in seed round fundraising on November 20, 2025, led by renowned crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital. The round was completed quickly in less than a week, highlighting the market's high confidence in this entrepreneurial team and product potential.
The two founders of HelloTrade, Kevin Tang and Wyatt Raich, both come from the world's largest asset management company, BlackRock, and jointly launched the company's first spot Bitcoin ETF: IBIT, which is also the fastest ETF product to reach $100 billion in assets.
HelloTrade targets pain points: high thresholds and many restrictions for leveraged stock trading
For many years, trading opportunities in stocks and capital markets have been constrained by geographical regions, regulations, cumbersome processes, and capital thresholds, making it particularly difficult for retail or emerging market investors to access global stock, ETF, or commodity price exposure and leverage opportunities.
Building a "global frictionless brokerage" with blockchain
HelloTrade's vision is to build a truly open and user-friendly global leveraged trading platform. The platform is built on the high-performance blockchain MegaETH, supporting users in leveraged trading of stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and commodities.
Unlike traditional crypto platforms, HelloTrade emphasizes simplifying the user experience. No wallet setup is needed, no Gas Fee payment, and no need to understand technical jargon; users can simply open the app and place orders as easily as using Robinhood or eToro. MegaETH supports over 100,000 transactions per second, ensuring transactions are immediate and smooth.
Co-founder Kevin Tang stated: "Trading stocks should be as simple as using an app, and should not be limited by geography or minimum capital requirements. We aim to bring the openness of crypto derivatives into the traditional capital markets, achieving real global investment opportunities."
HelloTrade's advisory team is luxurious: gathering leaders from crypto and traditional finance
HelloTrade is backed by a seasoned advisory team, including:
Arthur Hayes (Founder of Maelstrom, former CEO of BitMEX)
Josh Lim (FalconX)
David C. (LeadBlock Partners & LeadBlock Bitpanda Ventures)
Larry Florio (Ethena)
Andrew Saunders (Amazon)
These advisors cover areas such as blockchain exchanges, asset management, venture capital, and tech giants, providing HelloTrade with support in strategy, technology, regulations, and marketing.
Founder background: transitioning from institutional experience to entrepreneurial challenges
Co-founder Wyatt Raich previously served as the engineering lead at BlackRock's digital asset lab, leading the development of important products such as IBIT, ETHA, and BUIDL. He stated: "During my time at BlackRock, we developed products to the highest institutional standards. This made me see the tremendous potential to extend the same trust and discipline to the global investment market, and it became the driving force behind HelloTrade."
Kevin Tang is a seasoned professional with over 12 years of experience in financial services. The two have very different backgrounds — Kevin comes from traditional finance, while Wyatt previously worked at Lockheed Martin in AI and robotics development — but they share a common vision of blockchain reshaping capital markets, ultimately joining forces to found HelloTrade.
The app is about to launch, allowing early registration for experience
HelloTrade plans to launch an app for both iOS and Android platforms, and has currently opened user registration on the official website hello.trade to join the waiting list. The target audience includes global investors eager to gain stock and asset leverage exposure, whether they are professional traders or novice retail investors, all of whom can enjoy a more equitable trading experience.
The birth of HelloTrade symbolizes a further integration of traditional finance and the crypto world. With large institutions like BlackRock entering the blockchain space, its former core members have chosen to start anew, pushing financial innovation through entrepreneurship. Will they truly break down trading barriers and promote the unrestricted flow of global assets? It deserves continuous market attention.
This article discusses how BlackRock's crypto asset team founded HelloTrade: raising $4.6 million in seed funding to create a borderless stock trading platform, originally appearing in Chain News ABMedia.
