CITI Protocol said on Aug. 25 that it has raised $11 million across seed and pre-Series A funding rounds, adding fresh capital for its infrastructure aimed at issuing and operating on-chain structured financial products.

The round included Dragonfly, Jump Crypto, CMT Digital, Stratified Capital, Adaverse and Mirana. The company says its system is designed to let teams with asset-management capabilities launch blockchain-based financial products through a modular framework and API-based setup.

Funding targets product infrastructure

CITI Protocol describes itself as a developer of infrastructure for on-chain structured products. The company said the new funding will support a platform that combines issuance, operations and distribution of financial products in a single system.

According to the company, the platform breaks the workflow into three modules: tokenization, vaults, and issuance and operations. That structure is intended to make product creation more accessible for teams that already have investment or asset-management expertise but need the technical rails to bring products on-chain.

Modular design and control features

The company said financial products can be launched through API calls using its modular stack. In practical terms, CITI Protocol is positioning the system as backend infrastructure rather than a single standalone investment app.

It also said the infrastructure includes smart contract-based multisignature permission controls and an on-chain fee disclosure mechanism. Those features are presented as part of the system’s security and transparency design, though the company did not provide additional detail in the announcement on how they are implemented.

Benzo is the first live platform

CITI Protocol’s first platform built on the infrastructure is Benzo. The company said Benzo currently operates four vaults with $30 million in total value locked.

Benzo offers on-chain versions of strategies that are more commonly associated with institutional investors, according to the company. These include quantitative hedging, exchange arbitrage and private credit. The announcement did not break down how assets are distributed across the four vaults.

Next products focus on thematic portfolios

The company said it plans to launch a new lineup of thematic portfolio products through Benzo in the near term. Those products are intended to automatically trade and rebalance assets directly in users’ wallets.

CITI Protocol said the lineup will include a “People Tracker,” which follows the public portfolios of prominent figures, as well as “Sector Themes” centered on specific industries. The company did not announce a launch date or provide further information on which figures or sectors would be included first.

What comes next

Based on the company’s announcement, the next confirmed step is the rollout of those thematic portfolio products on Benzo. For now, the clearest operating metrics disclosed are the $11 million raised, the backing from six named crypto investors, and Benzo’s current footprint of four vaults with $30 million in TVL.

That leaves the immediate focus on whether CITI Protocol can translate its infrastructure pitch into broader product distribution. Any further assessment will likely depend on the launch details of the planned Benzo offerings and how much on-chain activity they attract after release.

Source: en.bloomingbit.io