• UAE-based ORO Labs, a tokenised gold platform, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round, led by 468 Capital, with participation from Fasset and angel investors.
• Founded in 2024 by Usman Saleem, ORO is a tokenised gold platform that enables users to seamlessly access, trade, and utilise gold-backed assets across financial markets.
• With this funding, ORO will expand its product offerings and deepen its integrations within both decentralised and traditional finance.

Press release:

ORO Labs, a tokenised gold protocol on Solana, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round to transform gold into a liquid, composable, and income-generating asset.

For centuries, gold has been the world’s most trusted store of value—yet it has remained underutilised in financial markets. ORO is changing this by making gold more than just a passive investment—it’s now a fully functional, yield-generating financial asset.

The funding round was led by 468 Capital, with participation from Fasset and angel investors from leading Solana projects, including Phantom, Jupiter, Helium, Squads, Sanctum, Anza Labs, Perena, Bonk, and Forma, among others.

“Gold shouldn’t just sit idle—it should generate wealth,” said Usman Saleem, Co-Founder & CEO of ORO. "With ORO, gold isn’t just something you hold; it’s something you can earn with, borrow against, and use seamlessly across markets. This is gold, but better."

Traditional gold ownership locks up capital with no way to generate yield, borrow against holdings, or use it beyond static investment. ORO is changing that by making gold a dynamic, income-generating asset. Built on Solana’s high-speed, low-cost infrastructure, ORO allows users to earn real yield on their gold holdings, borrow against their gold to unlock liquidity, and trade gold-backed assets with instant settlement.

ORO’s launch comes at a time of historic shifts in global finance. Central banks are accumulating gold at record levels, reinforcing its status as a neutral reserve asset amid de-dollarisation trends. Meanwhile, the rise of digitised, borderless financial assets is transforming global markets, as users seek alternatives beyond fiat-based systems.

“We see ORO as a crucial bridge between legacy commodities markets and the next generation of financial infrastructure,” said Guilherme Steinbruch, Partner at 468 Capital. 

“By creating a gold-backed financial asset with real utility, ORO is unlocking new opportunities for both crypto users and traditional gold investors.”

The UAE is a global leader in gold trade, facilitating over $100 billion in gold transactions annually. By establishing itself in the UAE, ORO is able to tap into the region’s gold liquidity, regulatory clarity, and deep-rooted trade networks to offer users a secure, transparent, and scalable way to access and use tokenised gold on a global scale.

In addition to its funding success, ORO also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at ADGM last month in the presence of HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and HE Dr Jörg Kukies, Germany’s Minister of Finance. The MOU outlines ORO’s commitment to expanding tokenised gold adoption across the UAE and beyond, reinforcing its strategic partnerships and regulatory compliance.

ORO is partnering with Fasset to expand tokenised gold adoption across the UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain, Indonesia, and Turkey. As a strategic investor, Fasset will help drive retail and institutional access through their regulated financial infrastructure. ORO will also launch on Own (Fasset’s Layer 2 network) later this year.

With this funding, ORO will expand its product offerings and deepen its integrations within both decentralised and traditional finance. Over the coming months, ORO will introduce new financial applications that enhance gold’s liquidity and composability, enabling more efficient borrowing, seamless global transactions, and greater yield opportunities for gold holders.