Aegis, a startup developing a fully transparent, bitcoin-backed stablecoin, has emerged from stealth with a $2 million pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by on-chain DAO Dewhales, with participation from Profluent Ventures and notable angel investors linked to companies like Uniswap, Stellar, Paradigm, Deribit, and xAI. The fresh capital will accelerate Aegis’ development of YUSD, a stablecoin designed to operate independently of the fiat banking system.
The stablecoin industry has long faced concerns over transparency, reliance on traditional financial institutions, and the absence of seamless yield generation. Aegis aims to address these challenges with YUSD, a bitcoin-backed stablecoin that maintains real-time transparency and a unique yield mechanism. Unlike traditional stablecoins that depend on USDT or centralized banking systems, YUSD uses delta-neutral positions to preserve stability and generate yield without staking requirements.
“In the stablecoin landscape, there is an overall lack of transparency, vulnerability to crypto market risks, and an absence of easy-to-access yield generation mechanisms,” said Ermin Sharich, co-founder of Aegis. “Our goal with YUSD is to protect users’ wealth from many financial risks while offering value generation, timeless rewards, and a commitment to transparency in Aegis operations.”
With the new funding, Aegis is set to launch YUSD in Q1 of this year. The startup plans to integrate its stablecoin with industry-leading DeFi protocols, liquidity pools, and lending platforms. Additionally, a portion of the funds will support the creation of an insurance pool to enhance YUSD’s risk management framework. Team expansion is also on the agenda to bolster research, security, and user adoption efforts.
Aegis has partnered with Riverside Hedge to ensure instant liquidity for YUSD holders. Users can hold YUSD and register their wallets to earn passive yield while tracking real-time proof-of-reserves, custodial vault holdings, and open market positions through the Aegis dashboard.
Founded in 2024, Aegis is led by a team of financial industry veterans with extensive experience in investment and trading. The team has managed risks in volatile markets for decades, giving them deep insights into digital asset stability. Their expertise shapes YUSD’s model, which aims to combine financial security with accessibility.
“Although many stablecoins claim to be crypto-native, we were attracted to Aegis because of its true independence from fiat and existing stablecoins,” said Gatis Eglītis, an Aegis investor and co-founder of Exante, the firm behind the world’s first Bitcoin hedge fund. “At Exante, we look for projects that have the opportunity to not only offer a top-tier product but also reshape industry standards, and Aegis fits the bill.”
The funding round saw participation from a diverse group of investors with a history of backing major blockchain projects. Supporters include Dewhales, Profluent Ventures, and key figures behind industry giants like MakerDAO, BCB, Amberdata, and Apptronik. Their backing signals confidence in Aegis’ approach to building a stable, yield-generating asset for the DeFi ecosystem.
Aegis aims to position YUSD as a secure alternative for those seeking protection against fiat hyperinflation while maximizing returns in the digital economy. With transparency and decentralization at its core, the company is gearing up to redefine how stablecoins function in an evolving financial landscape.
