Grvt Raises $19 Million to Propel Privacy-Focused Onchain Finance in Quest for Trillion-Dollar Markets

Grvt secures $19 million in Series A funding to improve its ZK-driven DEX, prioritizing privacy, security, and scalability within onchain finance.

September 18, 2025 – Panama City, Panama – Grvt, a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) focusing on onchain financial privacy through zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, has successfully completed a $19 million Series A funding round.

This funding supports Grvt’s ambition to serve as a global benchmark for future finance, accelerating its mission to enhance the fragmented onchain finance ecosystem by addressing persistent challenges related to privacy, security, scalability, and accessibility.

As Wall Street increasingly embraces blockchain technology, a new phase of global finance is emerging onchain. In August, the onchain volume on Ethereum exceeded $320 billion, reaching its highest level since mid-2021. Forecasts indicate the DeFi sector is set to expand from $32.36 billion in 2025 to more than $1.5 trillion by 2034.

However, this potential largely remains unrealized due to serious concerns stemming from various challenges observed on decentralized platforms. Issues like “whale hunting,” where major trades are preemptively targeted by sophisticated actors monitoring the mempool, have led to billions in losses annually due to maximum extractable value (MEV) attacks and other manipulative practices. Additional barriers include vulnerabilities in smart contracts, regulatory challenges on public chains, a fragmented onchain ecosystem, and usability issues for everyday users.

Grvt is distinctly positioned within this landscape, supported by a robust technological framework. The Series A funding round was co-led by ZKsync, Grvt’s primary technology partner; Further Ventures, a capital markets investment firm based in Abu Dhabi that also led a prior strategic investment round; EigenCloud (formerly EigenLayer), a verifiable cloud platform for developers; and 500 Global (formerly 500 Startups), a venture capital firm managing $2.3 billion in assets while focusing on rapidly growing global startups.

A significant portion of the funds raised will be dedicated to accelerating Grvt’s diverse product strategy, designed to serve both active traders and passive investors. This unique approach is currently lacking in the exchange market and enhances Grvt’s exceptional potential to unify and dominate the disjointed onchain financial landscape. Key initiatives include:

• Fixed Yield Generation Flywheel: An innovative yield vehicle that allows users to transfer funds effortlessly between their funding, trading, and vault accounts to maximize returns.
• Infrastructure: Continuing to strengthen Grvt’s privacy-by-default framework, which is frequently lacking in the industry.
• Stablecoin-Enabled System: A comprehensive stablecoin ecosystem, incorporating cross-exchange vaults and integrations with real-world assets (RWA).

The remaining funds will support community initiatives and talent acquisition to promote global expansion.

Hong Yea, co-founder and CEO of Grvt, remarked: “Onchain finance has been constrained by privacy gaps that expose users to exploitation. By establishing a privacy-centric, scalable, and trustless DEX that caters to a wide range of structured products, Grvt exemplifies how ZK-driven solutions will become the norm, making a secure onchain finance ecosystem a reality.”

Alex Gluchoski, co-founder and CEO at Matter Labs, commented: “We view ZK as the ‘HTTPS moment’ for cryptocurrency. Just as HTTPS enhanced trust and privacy on the internet, ZK will do the same for Web3. Grvt is emerging as the most liquid and impactful application layer poised to realize this vision, illustrating how ZK can popularize onchain finance.”

Faisal Al Hammadi, Managing Partner at Further Ventures, added: “Further Ventures is committed to fostering the next generation of financial infrastructure, extending from Abu Dhabi to the globe. Grvt’s application of zero-knowledge proofs exemplifies how advanced cryptography can underpin markets at an institutional scale, and we are proud to support their vision for a truly borderless financial system.”

Sreeram Kannan, Founder and CEO at Eigen Labs, noted: “Verifiable data enables verifiable computation, and with EigenDA now achieving 100 MB/s, the bottleneck has shifted from data availability to computation. Grvt is tackling this challenge head-on. Their ambitious vision is matched by the caliber of their team, and we are thrilled to support them alongside ZKsync in scaling onchain finance with the necessary security and privacy.”

Min Kim, General Partner at 500 Global, stated: “We believe the future of finance will be constructed onchain, and privacy is fundamental to unlocking its complete potential. Grvt’s vision of integrating ZK technology with institutional-grade infrastructure closely aligns with our philosophy of empowering global founders who are redefining core financial systems. We look forward to partnering with Grvt as they set a new standard for secure, private, and accessible onchain markets.”

A collective effort to lead and unify onchain finance

By utilizing zero-knowledge technology and collaborating with ZKsync—the technology investigated in proofs-of-concept by leading institutions like Deutsche Bank and UBS—Grvt is strategically positioned as a blockchain-native model demonstrating the capabilities of ZK in finance, facilitating secure, rapid, private, and accessible trading and investing. Here’s how the ZKsync Stack tackles critical barriers in onchain finance:

• Privacy: Grvt operates on a ZKsync Validium L2 blockchain that maintains L2 state validation without public disclosure, addressing a major privacy concern that has plagued many DeFi protocols.
• Ethereum-level Security: By utilizing ZK proofs, L2 transactions inherit Ethereum-level security. Each batch of transactions is verified on Ethereum, ensuring mathematical guarantees for even off-chain processed transactions. If any transaction is invalid, the proof would fail, leading to its rejection by Ethereum.
• Scalability: The ZKsync Stack enhances scalability by acting as an L2 solution, enabling the processing of a significantly larger number of transactions compared to Ethereum’s base layer.
• Accessibility: ZKsync technology reduces transaction costs by processing them off-chain in bulk and only submitting essential proofs to the Ethereum base layer, substantially lowering settlement expenses.

As a key investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s strategic push into blockchain, Further Ventures’ co-leadership in the Series A round underscores its influential role in shaping global onchain finance.

EigenCloud’s EigenDA, recognized as the top data availability solution for Ethereum rollups, equips Grvt with the scalability and security necessary for high-speed cloud operations. By anchoring data to a decentralized validator network, EigenDA ensures that Grvt’s ZK stack remains scalable and verifiable.

In the future, Grvt will also utilize EigenDA’s programmable privacy features, which address the long-standing challenge of balancing data availability with privacy. This advancement allows Grvt to merge data availability with privacy guarantees, an achievement once deemed unattainable.

Looking ahead

Building on Grvt’s innovative foundation, which has already introduced several industry-firsts—such as a 1 basis point maker fee rebate extended to all maker orders—our immediate objective is to launch a fixed-yield product. This offering will guarantee a 10% interest return for all users. Furthermore, we will introduce our flagship market-making strategy, the Grvt Liquidity Provider (GLP), a fund strategy that delivers high double-digit APRs to retail traders, providing access to previously unattainable opportunities.

In the rapidly evolving industry landscape, this funding round establishes a solid, multidimensional foundation that combines state-of-the-art technology, institutional-grade infrastructure, and a secure data framework, positioning Grvt favorably within the competitive onchain financial sector.

About Grvt

Grvt (pronounced “gravity”) is an onchain financial platform utilizing the ZKsync Stack that provides a private, trustless, scalable, and secure framework. Through its decentralized exchange (the “Grvt Exchange”) and investment marketplace (the “Grvt Strategies”), Grvt empowers individuals to trade, invest, and grow wealth transparently alongside industry experts.

For further information, visit the official website.

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About ZKsync

ZKsync is a trailblazing ZK technology enabling the next generation of builders to achieve infinite scalability. Grounded in cryptographic principles and crafted for seamless interoperability, ZKsync enables the Elastic Network—a continuously evolving network of customizable chains.

Your gateway to the expanding digital economy, ZKsync is embraced by leading banks, institutions, and corporations to future-proof their financial systems. Built on Ethereum, ZKsync supplies the privacy, scalability, and compliance necessary for asset issuance, payment processing, and launching new financial products—creating a secure platform for growth.

About Further Ventures

Further Ventures invests in and develops enterprises that are reshaping the future of financial markets. With a global platform rooted in emerging economies, Further connects cutting-edge financial infrastructure with global capital markets. Its portfolio empowers institutional partners to securely store and transfer assets, trade structured products, secure decentralized networks, tokenize funds, and execute complex transactions with precision.

From San Francisco to Hong Kong, founders turn to Further as their preferred institutional partner. We make substantial capital commitments, collaborate closely with regulators, and offer deep domain expertise to foster category-defining companies at the forefront of finance.

For additional information, visit the official website.

Media inquiries: [email protected]

About EigenCloud

EigenCloud is a developer platform capable of creating any application onchain or offchain, grounded in cryptoeconomic trust. Powered by the EIGEN token and secured by Ethereum, it integrates data, computation, and verification into a seamless developer experience, providing verifiability onchain.

About 500 Global

500 Global is a venture capital firm managing $2.3 billion in assets, investing early in founders building fast-growing technology companies. Since its inception, 500 Global has supported over 2,700 firms across more than 80 countries, including over 51 unicorns such as Credit Karma, Canva, Grab, Bukalapak, GitLab, Solana, and Udemy. With a team of over 190 professionals spanning 25 nationalities, 500 Global is committed to empowering individuals and economies globally through entrepreneurship.

Disclaimer: Grvt Strategies offers technology solutions and smart contract infrastructure for digital asset management but does not provide financial, investment, or advisory services. Grvt does not endorse, recommend, or vouch for the performance or suitability of any investment strategies available on the Strategies platform. All investment strategies are independently developed and managed by third-party strategy providers. Grvt accepts no responsibility or liability for the performance of such strategies or any losses incurred by users. Users are solely responsible for evaluating and accepting the risks associated with investment decisions made through the Strategies platform.