Sentora Emerges from DeFi Merger: A New Gateway for Institutional Investors
In a significant move within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, IntoTheBlock and Trident Digital have merged to form Sentora. This strategic merger aims to bring institutional investors onchain, enhancing the accessibility and efficiency of blockchain-based financial solutions.
Leadership and Funding
The newly formed entity, Sentora, is led by Anthony DeMartino, co-founder of Trident and former head of risk strategies at Coinbase (COIN). Sentora is also set to finalize a $25 million funding round, spearheaded by New Form Capital. Other notable participants in this fundraising round include Ripple, Tribe Capital, UDHC, and Joint Effects, with additional support from strategic ecosystem investors such as Curved Ventures, Flare, and Bankai Ventures. While most investors have already closed their commitments, two firms are expected to complete the process by June, according to the company’s statement to CoinDesk.
Merging Expertise for DeFi Maturity
The merger arrives at a pivotal time as DeFi transitions from its early, unregulated phase to a more structured and sophisticated financial ecosystem. The consolidation of DeFi firms, exemplified by Sentora, reflects a broader trend in the crypto industry. According to Architect Partners, the first four months of 2025 witnessed 88 mergers and acquisitions, indicating a trajectory to surpass the previous record years of 2022 and 2024.
Crypto mergers and acquisitions (Architect Partners)
Offering a Comprehensive Institutional Solution
Sentora brings together IntoTheBlock’s robust DeFi analytics, which have facilitated over $3 billion in institutional deployments, and Trident’s expertise in liquidity program structuring and financial products. The platform is designed as a comprehensive resource for institutional investors, incorporating yield strategies, compliance, risk management, and access to structured products under one umbrella.
Jesus Rodriguez, co-founder of IntoTheBlock and now CTO of Sentora, emphasized the vision of providing essential tools for various financial entities, including crypto institutions, DAO foundations, traditional finance investors, and individual family offices, to interact with DeFi in an intelligent and secure manner.
Addressing Complexities in DeFi
A major challenge for asset managers entering DeFi at scale has been the increasing complexity and fragmentation across new chains and protocols, as highlighted by DeMartino. “It shouldn’t be this hard,” he noted, underscoring the need for a unified platform that simplifies the process by managing all risk and liquidity aspects while ensuring transparency.
DeMartino further articulated the ambition to build infrastructure that supports the influx of trillions of assets onchain, pointing out that current DeFi assets, as per DefiLlama data, stand at less than $130 billion, a fraction of the trillions managed by traditional finance giants like BlackRock and Fidelity Investments.
For more information, read the full article on CoinDesk: IntoTheBlock and Trident Merge, Secure $25M Backing to Build Institutional DeFi Gateway.
