Top 10 DeFi Startups Drawing Attention from TradFi Investors

ZebPay

Mumbai's ZebPay, operational since 2014, has pivoted to DeFi with ZEBX staking pools offering 7-9% yields on BTC and ETH, integrated with Polygon for low-fee trades. It serves 5 million users, focusing on institutional-grade custody.

TradFi draw: Collaborations with Kotak Mahindra Bank for DeFi treasury management, tokenizing INR deposits. In May 2025, Kotak launched a $50 million RWA pilot on ZebPay.

Funding: $7 million historically from institutional angels. A fresh $15 million debt round from Aavishkaar Capital in 2025 eyes DeFi API expansions.

Mudrex

Bengaluru's Mudrex simplifies DeFi with ‘Coin Sets’ themed baskets like DeFi Blue Chip yielding 12% via automated rebalancing across Aave and Compound. TVL hit $800 million in 2025, appealing to non-crypto natives.

TradFi appeal: SEBI-registered as a mutual fund alternative, with Axis Bank integrations for seamless UPI deposits. Axis piloted Mudrex for employee DeFi portfolios in Q3 2025.

Funding: $40 million total, including $10 million Series A in 2022 from Struck Capital. $12 million from Flipkart Ventures in January 2025 boosted RWA baskets.