Cycles, the crypto infrastructure startup founded by Cosmos co-founder Ethan Buchman, has secured $6.4 million in fresh funding led by Blockchange Ventures to accelerate development of its privacy-preserving clearing network for crypto markets and stablecoin payments, the team said Thursday.
The round was also backed by Coinbase Ventures, Compound VC, Primitive Ventures, and angel investors. The raise increases the company’s total funding to $8.7 million after a $2.3 million pre-seed round completed in 2025.
The new capital will help boost the rollout of the Cycles clearing network and support the expansion of the company’s first products, including Cycles Prime, an institutional solution designed for OTC trading firms, the team stated.
The platform allows firms to privately net obligations across counterparties, reducing liquidity requirements and counterparty exposure without collateral, asset transfers, or changes to existing trading relationships. Cycles Prime is debuting with Lynq and FalconX as anchor partners.
While clearing systems are foundational to traditional financial markets, crypto markets still largely rely on gross settlement, where counterparties must fully prefund transactions. That model creates capital inefficiencies, liquidity bottlenecks, and heightened market fragility during periods of volatility.
