Get the latest news and updates on FINTECH.TV

Gauntlet Crypto Yield Strategy Targets Safer Returns

December 20, 2025

Video Transcript

Hi everyone, we're here at Solana Breakpoint.

This is Rachel with Fintech TV.

Salana Breakpoint here in Abu Dhabi.

I am joined today by Turun Chitra, who's the CEO of Gornet.

Turun, thanks so much.

Hey, excited to be here.

It's a new, new venue for you guys.

Yeah, exactly, a little bit of a refurbishment, let's say.

So tell me, tell me a little bit more about Gauntlet and what it is that you're focused on.

Yeah, so Gauntlet, uh, has two main businesses.

Um, one is sort of, uh, services business, consulting business, and the other is, uh, on-chain asset management.

So we have a little under $2 billion of assets under management.

Um, we have a lot of assets on Fna, that's one of our fastest growing, um, chains.

Um, and we just announced, or realistically, our partner announced, uh, a big product that we're kind of powering the back end for, which is the squad's altitude, uh, neobank wallet.

But we're really just excited to be here, meet all the fintechs who are dabbling in crypto.

I think, like, You know, if you go to Salana conferences or Ethereum conferences, you just get a totally different spectrum of FinTech and Neobank, uh, customers.

And for us, we're just trying to help them come on chain, find yield and that's safe, and, like, be able to offer that to their customers.

And so where are you seeing most of the growth coming from, from your side at the moment on the customer side?

Yeah, so, uh, a lot of our partnerships are we work with.

It, uh, neobanks, Fintech, um, some small banks in, in other countries like fully regulated institutions who want to offer their users crypto yield, but safe crypto yield.

And we basically go and find safe crypto yield and put it together so that you open your FinTech app, you put in $100 and you can watch your money grow.

And so, We basically find borrowers and lenders, find ways to match, um, you know, crypto capital with off-chain capital, and generate yield for users, which is meant to be higher than, you know, what you would get owning treasuries in your bank account.

And what is, what do you think are still some of the friction points for investors that are on the sidelines when it comes to you?

Like, is it that they don't understand the safety that's involved in it, or how do you bridge that gap?

Yeah, for sure.

So we've been around for 7 years, which in crypto years is like 70 years.

Yeah, it's like, and, but we started actually our consulting business and risk management business is.

We basically audit people's setups and then measure the risk management to sort of assess them um in, in different ways.

And then we also do sort of like live risk management where we monitor.

So, we spent 5 or 6 years building out these tools before we went to actually managing assets.

So, for us, we kind of have played the slow game over time.

Um, I would say the most important thing is that Right now, what you're seeing is people who have stablecoins are just more comfortable from a regulatory standpoint with certain types of low-risk crypto yield.

The low-risk crypto yield is people who are in crypto who want to borrow stablecoins.

So they have some crypto assets and they have a bunch of salwana, and they want to borrow stablecoins to buy a house, they want to borrow stablecoins to go leverage long salna, and we help match borrowers and lenders and, and find the interest rates that make sense for people.

And then that goes to our depositors.

Yeah, it feels like that collateral management piece has become a bit of a, a game changer for people that want to come into the space in terms of what they can do with their crypto now.

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

I think like that's sort of, that's the idea is that a neobank, they focus on getting users, getting customers, building the best UX.

We do the collateral management, the risk management, we do all the matching, kind of, like, assessing the borrowers, stuff like that, uh, in real time, and, you know, we're bidding on loans all day.

And so we kind of hide that complexity for our customers who are who, for banks.

And so you mentioned before that you see this difference between the Solana ecosystem, the Ethereum ecosystem.

What has kind of been some of the biggest highlights for you here at Solana Breakpoint?

Yeah, the Ethereum ecosystem seems to have a lot of people in Latin America, uh, when I think about like fintech, neobanks, you know, apps that you would like, hold cash or stablecoins in, um.

Has a lot of Latin America, a lot of Europe.

Solana has a lot of, like, Singapore, MIA, like, Middle East exposure, India.

And so, like, you just see a totally different set of, like, geographic users.

Um, I think when you why is that, do you think?

Just penetration or there's a bigger reason?

So I think for India, it's like, realistically, cause Solana in 2021, just did so many hackathons, events, hacker houses, um, and they just built up a really good community there.

And whereas Ethereum has had always a big South American and European community, I think it's actually just the genesis story of, like, where the kind of founders came from in both communities.

Weirdly, it, like, you know, these are decentralized networks, but then, like, you know, there's some natural concentration.

So, here, we just see, like, a totally different type of user, right, than, than, say, a South American user.

A South American user might be Trying to escape their local currency, get into dollars and, and, and stable coins and not think about it.

Users here might be a little more like focused on speculation, users in India, maybe more about getting out of dollars, users in Asia, some combination of the two.

So, I think it's always interesting to see how the geography changes people's usage patterns, and that that's the type of thing we analyze in our users, but also just good to, you know, when you're on the ground, you like see it.

Yeah, totally, and that's really interesting that you combine that cultural community with the, with the technology piece as well and also see what's going on in the backhands.

Yes, exactly.

So anyway, thank you so much for coming on today, it's been a pleasure as always and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Excited to hear it, thanks so much.

Thanks so much, Tom.

At the Solana Breakpoint event in Abu Dhabi, FintechTV’s Rachel Pether sat down with Tarun Chitra, CEO of Gauntlet, to discuss how the firm is shaping safer access to crypto yield as fintech adoption accelerates.

Gauntlet currently manages nearly $2 billion in assets and operates across two core business lines: consulting and onchain asset management. This dual structure allows the firm to support neobanks, fintech platforms, and regulated financial institutions that want to offer crypto yield products without exposing users to excessive risk.

A key focus of the discussion was Gauntlet’s role in helping fintech companies launch crypto yield offerings designed for everyday users. These products allow individuals to start with relatively small investments, sometimes as low as $100, while maintaining strong risk controls. According to Chitra, Gauntlet acts as the connective layer between borrowers and lenders, efficiently bridging offchain capital with onchain markets to improve returns compared to traditional savings tools like treasury bills.

Gauntlet’s credibility is rooted in its early work. For much of its seven-year history, the firm concentrated on risk modeling, auditing, and protocol design. That foundation now supports its asset management business, where safety, transparency, and compliance remain central. Chitra noted that investor hesitation around crypto yield often stems from past failures across the industry, making risk discipline essential for broader adoption.

The conversation also explored how regional dynamics shape blockchain ecosystems. Chitra observed that Ethereum adoption remains strong in parts of Latin America, where users often seek protection from currency instability. In contrast, Solana has gained traction in regions such as Singapore and the Middle East, where users tend to pursue growth opportunities and higher returns. These behavioral differences influence how yield products are structured and distributed.

Gauntlet’s collateral and risk management services play a critical role for fintech platforms. By assuming responsibility for complex onchain risk decisions, Gauntlet enables neobanks to focus on customer experience while still offering competitive yield products. This approach reduces operational strain while increasing confidence among users.

As crypto continues to mature as an asset class, Chitra emphasized the importance of responsible frameworks that balance innovation with protection. Gauntlet’s emphasis on controlled exposure, conservative modeling, and institutional-grade practices positions it as a bridge between traditional finance and decentralized markets.

In a rapidly evolving digital asset landscape, the Gauntlet crypto yield model highlights how disciplined risk management can unlock safer participation for both institutions and retail investors. As fintech firms increasingly look to blockchain for yield opportunities, frameworks built on trust and transparency are likely to define the next phase of crypto adoption.

Latest articles

Related articles