Overview of Transaction

• On July 9, 2026, Gauntlet, a leading company in capital and risk management for on-chain markets, announced it has raised $125 million in a Series C round led by SBI Holdings
• Gauntlet is the leading model provider and premier vault curator in DeFi, leveraging proprietary crypto-economic research and analysis to build risk-optimized strategies across tokens, protocols and chains
• Founded in 1999, SBI Holdings is one of Japan's largest financial conglomerates spanning banking, securities, insurance and asset management and has emerged as a leader in digital assets and DeFi adoption within the country

Significance of Transaction

• This investment reflects SBI's long-term vision of seamlessly integrating traditional financial services with next-generation digital infrastructure
• Gauntlet's advanced risk management technology will be integrated into SBI’s network and contribute to the development of the global on-chain ecosystem
• “With the backing of SBI… we now have the ideal environment to apply the fruits of the research and development we have cultivated over many years to the on-chain transition of institutional investors worldwide” – Tarun Chitra, Gauntlet Co-Founder & CEO

FT Partners' Role

• FT Partners served as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Gauntlet
• This transaction highlights FT Partners’ deep domain expertise in the digital assets industry, as well as its extensive track record advising innovative FinTech companies globally