Brokerage infrastructure provider Alpaca has secured $135 million in a new funding round led by Peak XV, with participation from Elefund, Opera Tech Ventures (BNP Paribas Group), and Unbound. This follows a $150 million Series D in January 2026 that valued the company at $1.15 billion and brings Alpaca's total equity and debt financing to $435 million. The company is positioning itself as an agent-first brokerage, capitalizing on tokenization of traditional assets and the rise of AI-driven trading agents that require regulated infrastructure.
In parallel, Tether has invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin, a major Latin American crypto exchange founded in 2013. Mercado Bitcoin serves 4.5 million users and offers crypto trading, tokenized investments, lending, stablecoin payments, and banking infrastructure. Tether's capital will support the expansion of its stablecoin payment network, tokenized products, and on-chain capital markets.
The broader fintech landscape saw multiple sizeable rounds. Flex closed a $70 million Series B1 for its business finance platform, which includes stablecoin payment rails and multi-currency accounts. Velocity raised $38 million for its stablecoin treasury and settlement platform. Cyclops obtained $20 million to focus on stablecoins, backed by Coinbase Ventures and Circle. Meanwhile, ADI Chain raised $50 million for its sovereign-grade Layer‑2 infrastructure, and crypto infrastructure provider Glacis Labs confirmed a $6.8 million seed round for its multichain clearinghouse.
Alpaca, since its last round, has acquired regulated entities in India’s GIFT City, the UK, and Europe, launched European equities trading, and surpassed $1.5 billion in assets under custody for tokenized equities. Its monthly active API users have grown nearly fourfold, driven by agentic AI adoption.
