HelloTrade

The Company in Brief

HelloTrade was founded in 2025 by Wyatt Raich and Kevin Tang, two executives who left BlackRock's digital assets unit to build a mobile trading platform [Digital Journal, Nov 2025]. The company is headquartered in New York City and operates a remote-first structure [Crunchbase]. Its founding premise, as articulated by co-founder Kevin Tang, stemmed from the observation that it was "too difficult for people overseas to participate in common investment opportunities like purchasing U.S. stocks" [Fortune, Nov 2025].

The startup's key milestone to date is its seed financing. In November 2025, HelloTrade announced the close of a $4.6 million seed round led by Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Mirana Ventures [Digital Journal, Nov 2025]. The company is currently in a pre-launch phase, building a team of approximately 10 employees and preparing for a product launch targeted for the end of 2025 or early 2026 [Fortune, Nov 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Confirmed by company website, Digital Journal, and Fortune.

What They Have Built

HelloTrade is building a mobile-first trading platform that uses a blockchain settlement layer to offer leveraged perpetual futures contracts on a range of assets, from U.S. stocks to commodities and crypto. The core proposition is to provide global retail investors, particularly those outside the U.S., with 24/7 access to these markets through a simplified interface that hides the underlying crypto mechanics [hello.trade]. The product is not yet live, with a launch targeted for the end of 2025 or early 2026 [Fortune, Nov 2025].

The platform's technical architecture is built on MegaETH, a high-throughput blockchain layer that the company claims can process over one hundred thousand transactions per second [Digital Journal, Nov 2025]. A key part of the user experience design is abstraction: the company states there will be no wallet setup, gas payments, or technical jargon required, positioning the app to feel like a traditional brokerage [Digital Journal, Nov 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Product claims and launch timeline are consistently reported across multiple independent sources, including the company website and major financial publications.

Market Size and Demand

The addressable market for HelloTrade is defined by a structural gap in global retail financial access, where demand for U.S. assets meets the technical and regulatory friction of traditional brokerage. The global retail online brokerage and trading platform market was valued at over $10 billion in 2024 [Allied Market Research, 2024]. The global crypto derivatives market, which includes perpetual futures, saw daily trading volume regularly exceed $100 billion throughout 2024 [CCData, 2024].

Metric	Value
Global Retail Online Brokerage (2024)	>$10,000M
Global Crypto Derivatives Daily Volume (2024)	>$100,000M

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is based on analogous, third-party industry reports; specific TAM for the product's exact offering is not publicly defined.

Who Else Is Fighting for This

HelloTrade is positioning itself at the intersection of traditional brokerage and crypto exchange models. The competitive map is defined by three distinct segments: incumbent retail brokerages, established crypto derivatives exchanges, and a newer cohort of hybrid platforms offering tokenized equity access.

HelloTrade's stated edge rests on its user experience abstraction and its underlying infrastructure. The platform's commitment to removing wallet setup, gas payments, and technical jargon aims directly at the UX friction that characterizes most crypto exchanges [Digital Journal, Nov 2025]. A durable edge may lie in its exclusive build on the MegaETH blockchain, which is claimed to enable over 100,000 transactions per second [Digital Journal, Nov 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive positioning is inferred from product claims and market segments; specific competitor funding and differentiator details are based on public reporting.

Opportunity

If HelloTrade successfully onboards the global retail investors it targets, the company could become the primary gateway for leveraged exposure to U.S. assets outside the United States. The headline opportunity is to become the default mobile platform for non-U.S. retail traders seeking leveraged, 24/7 access to traditional financial markets. The rapid seed funding from Dragonfly Capital signals investor conviction that this team can execute on this specific wedge [Digital Journal, Nov 2025].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Scenarios and catalysts are extrapolated from directly cited founder statements, product claims, and investor/advisor backgrounds.

Sources

1. [Digital Journal, Nov 2025] Hellotrade founded by former BlackRock crypto directors raises $4.6M seed round led by Dragonfly Capital | https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/news/binary-news-network/hellotrade-founded-former-blackrock-crypto-1902698412.html
2. [Fortune, Nov 2025] Former BlackRock employees raise $4.6 million for crypto trading platform | https://fortune.com/2025/11/20/former-blackrock-employees-raise-4-6-million/
3. [hello.trade] HelloTrade Website | https://www.hello.trade
4. [Crunchbase] Hello Trade - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/hello-trade
5. [Allied Market Research, 2024] Global Retail Online Brokerage Market Report | https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/online-brokerage-market-A31392
6. [CCData, 2024] Crypto Derivatives Market Report | https://www.ccdata.io/
7. [TradingView News] As Bitget and Kraken Add Equity Access, HelloTrade to Offer Leveraged Trading to Retail Investors | https://www.tradingview.com/news/financemagnates:2de2f9c91094b:0-as-bitget-and-kraken-add-equity-access-hellotrade-to-offer-leveraged-trading-to-retail-investors/
8. [CoinGecko, 2024] Bitget Exchange Data | https://www.coingecko.com/en/exchanges/bitget