Crypto Startup Theo Raises $20M to Deliver Wall Street-Level Tools to Traders

Theo Secures $20M to Unlock Institutional Strategies for the Everyday Crypto Investor

In a move to democratize access to advanced trading infrastructure, crypto startup Theo has raised $20 million in a funding round co-led by Hack VC and Anthos Capital. The raise also saw backing from crypto-native investors and individuals linked to top-tier financial institutions like Citadel, Jane Street, and JPMorgan.

Theo is building a platform that empowers retail users to participate in complex, high-performance trading strategies through a user-friendly vault system. These vaults automate institutional-style approaches such as arbitrage, hedging, and cross-chain funding rate optimization—strategies traditionally gated behind layers of capital and complexity.

At the heart of Theo’s platform is a custom validator network that seamlessly routes and executes trades across both centralized and decentralized exchanges. The infrastructure also handles risk with built-in margin enforcement and overcollateralization at a system-wide level.

Founded by former quant traders from Optiver and IMC—Abhi Pingle, Arijit Pingle, and TK Kwon—Theo aims to bridge the performance gap in crypto markets. “Retail users deserve access to the same tools and efficiencies that drive institutional profits,” said Abhi Pingle. “Theo is here to deliver that access in a secure and scalable way.”

The firm’s model also allows professional trading firms to interact with the vaults, boosting overall capital efficiency and liquidity while preserving risk controls and execution quality.