Nimbus Capital has committed $15 million to Chimera Wallet, a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet built on VTXO-based architecture, in a partnership aimed at delivering lending, swaps, liquidity tools and fiat payment integrations directly on Bitcoin without relying on wrapped assets or external smart contract platforms..
On February 18, Nimbus Capital announced a $15 million strategic partnership with Chimera Wallet, a non-custodial wallet built on Bitcoin’s VTXO-based architecture. The collaboration is aimed at accelerating decentralized finance capabilities on Bitcoin while preserving the network’s core principles of security and self-custody.
At its core, the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet alliance is focused on expanding programmable financial tools that operate natively on Bitcoin, rather than relying on wrapped assets or external smart contract platforms. The partners say this approach allows users to access DeFi-style services without compromising custody or trust assumptions.
Institutional Capital Meets Bitcoin-Native Design
The $15 million commitment positions the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet collaboration as one of the more sizable infrastructure-focused investments in the Bitcoin DeFi space this year. Rather than targeting speculative applications, the partnership centers on foundational tools: payments, liquidity, lending, and asset exchange, all anchored directly to Bitcoin.
According to the companies, the initiative combines Bitcoin’s base-layer security with Bitcoin-native programmability enabled through the Arkade layer, creating a framework for financial applications that remain aligned with Bitcoin’s design philosophy.
“This partnership brings together capital markets expertise and deep Bitcoin infrastructure development,” said Claudio Levrini, Founder and Director of Chimera Wallet. “Our goal is to expand Bitcoin’s real-world utility while maintaining full self-custody and minimizing trust trade-offs.”
Levrini emphasized that the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet effort is not about recreating Ethereum-style DeFi, but about building financial tools that respect Bitcoin’s constraints and strengths.
Expanding DeFi Without Sacrificing Self-Custody
A central theme of the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet partnership is user control. Chimera Wallet operates as a non-custodial platform, meaning users retain direct ownership of their private keys while accessing financial services.
Through the collaboration, users are expected to gain access to asset swaps, liquidity provision, lending mechanisms, fiat onramps, and payment integrations, all while remaining in self-custody. This approach addresses one of the long-standing criticisms of centralized crypto finance: counterparty risk.
Robert Baker, Managing Partner at Nimbus Capital, framed the partnership as a strategic bridge between institutional finance and decentralized systems.
“We see Bitcoin entering a new phase where institutional participation and decentralized infrastructure can coexist,” Baker said. “The Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet partnership is about supporting tools that allow Bitcoin to function as both a store of value and a programmable financial network.”
Product Expansion and Global Rollout Plans
Beyond capital investment, the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet collaboration includes an aggressive product development roadmap. Chimera Wallet plans to accelerate the global rollout of its Bitcoin-linked payment tools, including a Visa card that enables BTC-to-fiat conversion at the point of sale.
Additional planned features include digital gift cards, merchant gateway integrations, enhanced liquidity routing, and expanded cross-chain interoperability. These upgrades are intended to make Bitcoin more usable in everyday economic activity, not just as a long-term investment asset.
User-facing tools are also part of the roadmap. Chimera Wallet aims to introduce portfolio management dashboards, yield-bearing Bitcoin products, and simplified swap interfaces. According to the company, these features are being designed with an emphasis on transparency and risk minimization.
Industry observers note that the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet strategy reflects a broader shift in crypto investment. Capital is increasingly flowing toward infrastructure that prioritizes compliance readiness, scalability, and real-world usage rather than short-term yield extraction.
Positioning Bitcoin for the Next DeFi Cycle
Bitcoin DeFi has historically lagged behind smart-contract platforms due to technical limitations. However, advances in Bitcoin-native programmability and layer-based execution environments are changing that narrative.
The Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet initiative is part of a growing movement to unlock financial functionality directly on Bitcoin without introducing systemic fragility. By leveraging Bitcoin’s settlement assurances while extending functionality at higher layers, the partnership aims to attract both institutional and decentralized users.
Market participants say such developments could gradually reshape how Bitcoin is used in financial markets. Rather than relying solely on centralized exchanges or custodians, users may increasingly interact with Bitcoin through self-custodial financial tools.
A Strategic Signal to the Market
The announcement sends a broader signal about where institutional capital believes Bitcoin infrastructure is headed. The Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet partnership suggests confidence that Bitcoin-native DeFi can scale responsibly and attract meaningful adoption.
While execution will determine long-term impact, the collaboration underscores a key theme in the current market cycle: infrastructure-first investment. By focusing on custody-preserving, programmable financial tools, Nimbus Capital and Chimera Wallet are betting that the next phase of Bitcoin growth will be driven by utility, not speculation.
As development progresses, the Nimbus Capital Chimera Wallet partnership will likely be closely watched by both institutional investors and Bitcoin purists. Its success—or failure—may help define whether Bitcoin can support a robust DeFi ecosystem without sacrificing the principles that made the network valuable in the first place.