Bitcoin yield platform HoneyB developer raises $5 million at $30 million valuation

Nectar Group, the developer of bitcoin income platform HoneyB, has raised $5 million in a seed funding round.

Portal Ventures led the round, with participation from Peer Venture Partners, Anchorage Digital Ventures, an unnamed family office, and angel investors, Nectar Group said Tuesday. The startup began raising the round at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 and closed it at the start of the third quarter of 2026, co-founder and CEO Josh Gordon told The Block.

The round was structured through a simple agreement for future equity, or SAFE, with a one-for-one token warrant, Gordon said, adding that it was raised at a $30 million post-money valuation.

None of the investors received board seats, board observer roles or advisory positions, Gordon said.

How HoneyB plans to generate bitcoin yield

HoneyB is being built to help bitcoin holders earn yield on their holdings.

"Bitcoin is a massive asset class, but the options for earning income on it remain limited," Gordon said. "We see HoneyB as the orchestration layer between bitcoin and capital markets."

Under its first planned strategy, users will borrow stablecoins using their bitcoin as collateral. The borrowed stablecoins are then invested in income strategies involving U.S. Treasuries, fixed income, credit, gold, volatility and options.

The bitcoin collateral can be held through an onchain smart contract or a three-party arrangement involving the borrower, lender and custodian, Gordon said. Anchorage Digital and BitGo serve custodial clients, while HoneyB also has infrastructure across Ethereum, Sui, Solana and Arch Network, he added, noting that bitcoin holders manage the loan in either case.

"Bitcoin is not accepted directly into institutional yield strategies at this time, so you will have to get to stablecoins one way or another to deploy to fixed income products," Gordon noted. "The only other way to generate yield on BTC without going to stablecoins is rehypothecation via lending your BTC or trading options on BTC."

Gordon said the underlying investment product aims to generate around 10% annual returns and HoneyB targets annual returns of about 2% to 4% on the user's bitcoin holdings after borrowing costs and fees.

The first strategy will use a fund giving access to a diversified portfolio from Simplify Asset Management, a registered investment adviser managing about $13.5 billion. Alphaledger manages and tokenizes the fund, while Amber Capital SPC is the issuer of the investment product, according to Gordon.

Bitwise, Lombard, Solv and Sentora are competing platforms, Gordon said, adding that HoneyB differs by bringing custody, borrowing and investment services together on one platform. It will also let institutional partners offer HoneyB's products to their own customers under their own brands, he noted.

Launch and investor eligibility

HoneyB plans to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, Gordon said. Its first product will be available to institutional investors outside the U.S. Investors will need to complete business verification checks.

HoneyB later plans to offer institutional products in the U.S. It is also working on a retail product for users in and outside the U.S., expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027, Gordon said.

As for its business model, HoneyB will make money by charging platform fees on capital deployed through its products, Gordon said.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital for product development, custody and financing integrations, legal and compliance work, and distribution.

Founded last October, Nectar has more than 12 employees.

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