Crypto Startup That Trades Virtual Versions of Real World Assets Aims to Subvert Banks

Morpher secured the backing of venture capitalist Tim Draper

article-image

Source: Blockworks

share

key takeaways

  • The platform has its own native token, MPH
  • Morpher now has more than 50,000 monthly users and has settled more than 1 million trades

A blockchain-based platform for trading synthetic exposures to real-world assets has earned the backing of venture capitalist Tim Draper as the firm builds out its business.

Austria-based Morpher raised a $6 million Series A round led by Draper Associates, with participation from RTP Ventures and APEX Ventures, Morpher CEO Martin Froehler told Blockworks. The round brings the startup to a post-money valuation of $33 million.

Morpher employs the Ethereum blockchain to create virtual versions of stocks, commodities and currencies — without having to hold the underlying asset or transact through intermediaries. One potential application, Froehler said, would be to create an index of housing prices within a specific zip code in the US, without owning any of the property outright.

The trades are executed in the company’s virtual currency, MPH, which the company mines to turn a profit. The company operates its own non-custodial wallet. The idea is to democratize access to investments for those outside of or underserved by traditional capital markets.

“In a nutshell, it’s about access to the markets and liquidity in the markets,” Froehler said.

The platform now has more than 50,000 active monthly users from 100 countries and has executed more than 1 million trades. Froehler plans to use part of the fresh capital to hire eight new staffers on the product and marketing front, aiming to bring staff size to 20 by year-end from its current 12 employees. A mobile app is also in the works.

The plan is to also roll out investments in exotic corners of the financial markets, such as the spot price of cannabis. Morpher doesn’t charge fees on its trades but profits from its tokens.

Froehler, a former quantitative hedge fund manager, said the intent is to ease some of the pain points of traditional finance by offering 24/7, commission-less trades.

“Regardless of where you are in the food chain, trading is always burdensome,” he said. “It is costly. And it is very unfair.”


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

The convergence of DePIN and energy generation aims to address modern grid challenges by incentivizing distributed generation.

article-image

However, they noted there’s now an increased risk that unemployment and inflation will rise in the coming months. 

article-image

The network’s most ambitious upgrade since the Merge brings validator streamlining, smart account UX and doubled blobspace to Ethereum

article-image

Debate over extra Bitcoin use cases has returned, two years on from Ordinals

article-image

Altcoin season may be on a permanent pause as the market matures and paths grow more selective

article-image

Today’s blockchains are more like nervous systems without a brain — wiring without will

article-image

A number of blockchains make use of the Solana Virtual Machine