Mochatrade, founded by Utkarsh Sinha, Parth Maheshwari and Chetan Manda, will use the seed funding to strengthen its trading technology, risk infrastructure and customer reach.
Indian fintech startup Mochatrade has raised $5.5 million in a seed funding round led by CoinFund, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Nicky Montana of Zero Knowledge Ventures. The startup was previously backed by Y Combinator and Pioneer Fund.
The funding will help Mochatrade build its trading engine, strengthen risk controls and expand its reach among active Indian traders, the company said. The round follows an earlier pre-seed investment. According to The Block, Mochatrade has raised around $5.56 million in total, including its earlier $690,000 pre-seed round.
Founded in 2026 by Utkarsh Sinha, Parth Maheshwari and Chetan Manda, the company is building a platform that allows Indian users to trade perpetual futures contracts linked to US stock prices, indices and commodities. Users can fund accounts through UPI and view their trading margins and profit or loss in rupees.
How Mochatrade’s Trading Model Works
Unlike conventional investing platforms, Mochatrade focuses on leveraged trading rather than buying and holding US shares. Its contracts allow users to take long or short positions on price movements without opening a US brokerage account or owning the underlying shares.
The contracts have no fixed expiry. While leverage can increase the size of a position relative to the money committed, it can also magnify losses. Users may lose their trading capital if positions move against them, making risk controls and clear disclosures important parts of the platform’s offering.
Mochatrade says its waitlist has crossed 25,000 sign-ups. At the time of the funding announcement, the platform was still in beta, with a public launch expected in the coming weeks, according to The Block.
Regulatory Questions Remain Important
Mochatrade says its Indian operating entity is registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit India (FIU-IND) as a Virtual Digital Asset Service Provider and reporting entity for anti-money laundering purposes.
However, FIU-IND registration should not be confused with approval of a trading product by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The precise regulatory treatment of the platform’s US stock-linked perpetual contracts is an important consideration for users. Indian residents should understand the applicable rules and risks before trading.
What Comes Next for Mochatrade?
The company plans to explore contracts linked to select pre-IPO companies, US stock options and social trading features, subject to applicable laws and regulatory approvals. It also aims to offer continuous market access and real-time settlement, subject to liquidity, asset availability and risk controls.
Mochatrade’s pitch targets traders who want exposure to US market movements through a rupee-based interface. Its next challenge will be to turn early interest into sustained usage while building trust around pricing, liquidity, risk management and regulatory clarity.
The funding gives the founders capital to develop the product and expand distribution. Whether the model can scale will depend not only on demand for global market access, but also on how effectively Mochatrade manages the risks that come with leveraged products.
