NEW YORK| June 25, 2026 — A year-old cryptocurrency trading startup with just 17 employees has secured $75 million in Series B funding, reaching a $550 million valuation and signalling a meaningful recovery in venture capital appetite for consumer-facing crypto platforms after months of subdued investor sentiment.
Fomo, a New York-based social trading and token discovery application, announced the funding round on 22 June 2026.
Index Ventures led the raise, with co-investment from Union Square Ventures and returning backer Benchmark.
The deal brings Fomo’s total disclosed equity funding to approximately $94 million since its founding in 2025.
| “We are on the precipice of the largest financial revolution since trading was computerised in the 1970s.” — Fomo, Series B Announcement |
The funding coincides with a broader upturn in crypto sector venture activity.
According to RootData, crypto startups attracted $4.1 billion across 147 rounds during the second quarter of 2026 — a sharp turnaround from the previous quarter, when Galaxy Research reported approximately $4 billion raised across 355 deals, roughly half the level of the period before.
Fomo stood out as the consumer outlier in what analysts describe as an otherwise infrastructure-heavy funding environment.
Founded by Former dYdX Executives
Fomo was founded by Paul Erlanger, Se Yong Park, and Prashan Dharmasena — all alumni of crypto derivatives exchange dYdX — who departed in 2025 to build a mobile-first trading interface aimed squarely at mainstream consumers rather than professional traders.
The company’s stated mission is to eliminate the friction that has long kept everyday investors out of on-chain markets: no seed phrases, no manual chain-switching, no bridge transactions, no gas fee management.
The platform operates on a non-custodial architecture, meaning Fomo never holds customer assets directly.
Users authenticate via email address or Apple ID, with biometric Face ID confirmation for sensitive operations.
Across Solana-based assets, Fomo partners with Privy, an embedded wallet infrastructure provider that handles key generation while preserving the self-custody guarantee. The result is a single USD balance operable across Solana, Base, BNB Chain, and Monad simultaneously.
What Is Non-Custodial Architecture?
Non-custodial platforms do not take possession of users’ funds or private keys. Instead, individuals retain full control and ownership of their digital assets while using the platform’s services.
| Custodial Model | Platforms like Coinbase or Robinhood hold customer assets on users’ behalf. |
| Non-Custodial Model | Users keep their own private keys and maintain direct control of their funds. |
| Regulatory Update | March 2026 SEC/CFTC guidance extended broker-dealer registration exemptions to qualifying non-custodial Covered User Interface Providers, the category in which Fomo operates. |
Key takeaway: In a non-custodial architecture, users—not the platform—remain in control of their crypto assets and private keys.
Platform Metrics: Growth at Pace
Fomo’s growth trajectory over its first year of operation has been notable.
The platform has attracted more than 625,000 traders, processed $4 billion in transaction volume, and recorded 110 million social interactions.
The company reports that 68,000 users made their first-ever cryptocurrency purchase through the app using Apple Pay, generating approximately $25 million in combined transaction volume from first-time buyers alone.
New user acquisition currently runs at approximately 3,500 sign-ups per day.
Fomo by the Numbers
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total Users | 625,000+ |
| Trading Volume Since Launch | $4 Billion |
| Social Interactions | 110 Million |
| First-Time Crypto Buyers (Apple Pay) | 68,000+ |
| First-Time Buyer Transaction Volume | $25 Million |
| New Daily Sign-Ups | ~3,500 per Day |
| Series B Valuation | $550 Million |
| Total Disclosed Funding | ~$94 Million |
| Team Headcount | 17 Employees |
The Social Layer: Trading as a Feed
Fomo’s core product differentiator is its social layer. Rather than offering copy trading in the traditional automated sense — where a platform executes trades on a user’s behalf when a followed trader acts — Fomo makes on-chain activity visible in real time.
Users see a live feed of what traders in their network are buying and selling, an aggregated leaderboard ranking traders by 24-hour, 7-day, and 30-day profitability, and the ability to tap through from any visible trade to execute an identical position within seconds.
Blockchain analytics firm Delphi Digital noted in a December 2025 commentary that Fomo’s design appeared to be succeeding in attracting users by making trading feel more like scrolling a social media feed than operating a trading terminal — a distinction the founders have cited as central to their product philosophy.
| Fomo has attracted 625,000 traders, processed $4 billion in volume, and generated 110 million social interactions — all within its first year of operation. |
On 11 June 2026, Fomo extended its product suite to include perpetual futures for users outside the United States, with execution routed through Hyperliquid, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain operating a fully on-chain order book.
The move positions Fomo beyond spot trading and into derivatives — a market typically reserved for advanced traders on specialised platforms.
Investors and Angels: A Marquee Lineup
Beyond institutional investors Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures, and Benchmark, Fomo’s Series B attracted a notable cohort of angel investors from consumer technology backgrounds.
These include Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus, Discord Chief Executive Humam Sakhnini, Eventbrite co-founder Kevin Hartz, and Nexos AI co-founder Tomas Okmanas.
The participation of Index Ventures — a generalist fund not historically associated with dedicated crypto investing — has drawn particular attention from analysts.
The firm has previously backed consumer platforms including Robinhood, Coinbase, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.
Industry observers suggest Index’s involvement signals that mainstream venture capital now regards consumer blockchain trading as a structural shift in financial services, rather than a cyclical speculative phenomenon.
Fomo’s Series B funding round comes at a time of increasing regulatory clarity for the digital asset industry. Just 12 weeks earlier, the U.S. SEC and CFTC jointly clarified that non-custodial wallet interfaces do not require broker-dealer registration under U.S. securities law—a decision that directly aligns with the architecture Fomo has pursued since its founding.
- ✅ SEC and CFTC guidance supports non-custodial wallet interfaces.
- ✅ Broker-dealer registration exemptions provide greater legal certainty for qualifying platforms.
- ✅ The GENIUS Act, regulating stablecoins, has been enacted and is currently in its rulemaking phase, strengthening the legislative framework for the broader crypto ecosystem.
Market Context: Retail Returns, Cautiously
Fomo’s funding announcement landed as Bitcoin traded near $64,587 and Ether near $1,765 — steadier levels than the early-June selloff that rattled retail sentiment.
KuCoin data indicates that global search volume for cryptocurrency-related terms increased in June 2026, with trading volumes also showing signs of recovery after Bitcoin stabilised around $62,260 earlier in the month.
The broader retail trading industry is trending towards greater crypto integration.
A survey by Gold-i and Finance Magnates of 110 respondents spanning foreign exchange and contract-for-difference brokers, proprietary trading firms, and liquidity providers found that 91 percent already offer cryptocurrency trading, while 78 percent reported strong client uptake.
Gold-i Chief Executive Tom Higgins described crypto as ‘no longer a peripheral opportunity’ for retail brokers and prop firms.
Fomo’s competitive positioning sits between two established camps: centralised exchanges such as Coinbase and Robinhood, which custody customer funds and face substantial compliance obligations; and decentralised venues such as dYdX — ironically the platform where Fomo’s founders previously worked — which target more technically sophisticated users.
Fomo’s non-custodial but consumer-friendly model attempts to thread that needle.
Use of Proceeds: Headcount and Acquisitions
Fomo has not provided a detailed breakdown of how the $75 million will be deployed.
Reports citing the company’s communications indicate that priorities include increasing engineering headcount and pursuing potential acquisitions, as the startup seeks to accelerate product development and expand its platform capabilities.
With a team of just 17 employees currently onboarding roughly 3,500 new users daily, the gap between team size and growth pace suggests the fresh capital will be directed substantially toward talent acquisition.
The company’s approach of keeping headcount lean while deploying third-party infrastructure — including Privy for wallet management and Hyperliquid for derivatives settlement — is expected to continue as a structural philosophy.
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