HIFI raises $37 million to expand tokenized markets

HIFI has raised $37 million in a Series A round to expand its stablecoin platform into cards and capital markets, funding infrastructure for firms moving money and tokenized assets. The company announced the round on September 24, led by Left Lane Capital, according to HIFI’s funding announcement. Matt Miller of Left Lane Capital will join HIFI’s board, the company said.

How will HIFI use the Series A?

HIFI plans to use the funding to seek more regulatory licenses, grow its team and extend its products from payments into cards and capital markets. In the announcement, the company said it sees custody and control as key challenges for institutions using tokenized assets. Tokenized assets are financial assets represented as digital tokens on a blockchain.

HIFI builds software that connects money movement, compliance and settlement across bank rails and digital assets. The Block reported that the company plans to put the new capital toward its tokenized capital-markets infrastructure and a broader product suite. The round also follows HIFI’s work on stablecoin-funded payouts through Visa Direct.

What has HIFI handled so far?

HIFI said it processes more than $7 billion a year, and that usage among existing customers grew more than fourfold in the six months before its announcement. Companies using its services have onboarded more than 10,000 businesses and 200,000 individuals, it said.

The company also said its platform took part in a July DTCC pilot for tokenized repo, a short-term financing deal backed by securities. HIFI reported that it supported a live tokenized repo trade on Tradeweb between DRW and Marex. The trade settled on the Canton Network, with USDCx used for the cash leg.

Why does the raise matter for tokenized markets?

Tokenized markets need systems to move both assets and cash and to settle transactions. HIFI’s stated plan is to extend its existing payments infrastructure into those capital-markets tasks. The company says programmable cash and assets could interact directly, reducing the coordination and delays involved in reconciling records across institutions.

That remains a plan, rather than a result guaranteed by the funding. HIFI says it will build outward from areas such as payments, treasury and collateral as institutions adopt tokenized finance. The Block’s report on the Series A also noted HIFI’s DTCC work and its Visa partnership as recent steps toward that expansion.

References

• HIFI’s funding announcement — hifi.com
• report on the Series A — theblock.co