Marble has launched with an $11 million seed round led by Polychain Capital, targeting institutional trading and financing for independent AI cloud providers and GPU operators.
The firm’s November 10 announcement names Maven 11, Ripple, Susquehanna Crypto, Lattice and Blockwall among its backers. Former BitGo trading executive Matt Ballensweig and former Galaxy Europe chief Leon Marshall are co-founders and co-chief executives.
Ballensweig previously co-led trading and lending at Genesis. Marshall also held roles at Genesis, Apollo and Trafigura before founding the new firm.
Compute Financing Plans Connect Operators With Institutional Lenders
Marble is developing two businesses. Marble Compute will structure private credit for AI infrastructure, while Marble Markets is building an institutional platform spanning digital assets, prediction markets and computing capacity.
The proposed financing process examines equipment, contracted customers and an operator’s capacity to repay. The firm plans single-opportunity funds first, with multi-opportunity funds a longer-term objective, subject to regulatory approvals.
The trading plans include spot crypto, lending, derivatives and compute forwards. A compute forward fixes a price for future rental capacity. For an operator, that contract can establish an agreed revenue stream against which a lender assesses financing.
Marble has not announced the value of loans originated or a fund’s first closing. The $11 million is seed funding for the business, not a disclosed amount already advanced to infrastructure borrowers.
Existing Data Center Disclosures Show Contract Financing Requirements
The financing need is visible in Hyperscale Data’s Michigan campus disclosure. Its operator ACS signed a colocation agreement for an initial 20 megawatts with a California-based neocloud customer.
The agreement has a ten-year initial term, two five-year extension options and a right of first offer for another 32 MW if available. Hyperscale engaged Newmark to arrange long-term debt, but said the appointment was not a lending commitment.
The company identified underwriting, due diligence, definitive agreements and closing conditions as outstanding financing requirements. It had not announced a loan amount, interest rate or maturity in that disclosure.
That example directly illustrates the information Marble says it will assess: contracted demand, the underlying infrastructure and the borrower’s payment capacity. It is an industry example, not a disclosed Marble client or transaction.
Bitcoin Reserve Sales Provide Another Infrastructure Funding Route
Separately, Hyperscale sold its remaining Bitcoin reserves for approximately $16 million, according to its November 10 announcement. It said the proceeds would reduce debt and support construction.
The sale was completed by November 8. Hyperscale is targeting December for its first 10 MW of critical IT capacity, with further construction and commissioning requirements still relevant to that timetable.
Marble’s private credit proposal addresses a different funding channel from selling treasury assets: borrowing structured around an operator’s equipment and cash flows. Terms and eligibility for Marble’s planned financing have not yet been disclosed.
Its institutional trading plans also involve a different role from an execution-only venue, such as the arrangement described in 24X’s expanded Standard Chartered relationship. Marble says it intends to act as counterparty on its own developing platform.
The founders’ launch therefore combines a completed seed round with products still being built. Financing commitments, fund launches and live trading availability require subsequent confirmation.
