Darshan Bathija

Co-Founder & CEO of Defx Labs, Defx Labs

Vauld context: Darshan Bathija served as CEO of Vauld from 2018 until stepping down in September 2023 during restructuring. Vauld suspended operations in July 2022 and is not currently an operating exchange. His current role is Co-Founder & CEO of Defx Labs.

Bio

Darshan Bathija — Co-Founder & CEO of Defx Labs

Darshan Bathija is the Co-Founder and CEO of Defx Labs, a company building a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for perpetual futures trading with encrypted order flow and verifiable onchain execution. Defx Labs was founded in 2025 by Darshan Bathija, Sanju Sony Kurian, and Soumyadeep Das, the team behind Vauld. (Source: Defx Labs announcement, June 2025.)

Darshan previously co-founded Vauld with Sanju Sony Kurian in 2018 and served as its CEO. Vauld was a Singapore-based crypto lending and trading platform. In July 2022, Vauld suspended all withdrawals, trading, and deposits and entered a restructuring process. Darshan and Sanju reportedly stepped down from Vauld management in September 2023 when a new board took responsibility for the restructuring process (source: The CapTable, October 2023). The current legal status of Vauld's creditor recovery scheme should be verified through authoritative legal/administrator sources; Vauld must not be described as a currently operating exchange.

The Defx founding team's stated motivation for building a new L1 was experience with the risks of centralized custodial platforms following 2022 events in the crypto market. Defx raised $2.5M in seed funding with participation from Pantera Capital, CMT Digital, Gumi Cryptos, CoinShares, Robot Ventures, Cadenza Ventures, and others.

Information last checked: August 19, 2026

Profile at a glance

Country: India
Status: Active

Work & Project Background

Vauld
Co-founder
Defx Labs
Co-founder

Key Contributions

Defx Labs: Layer 1 Dark Pool DEX

Co-founded Defx Labs to build a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain for perpetual futures trading, with encrypted order flow (hidden position sizes and liquidation thresholds) and verifiable onchain execution using zero-knowledge proofs.

Vauld: Early Crypto Lending Platform

Co-founded Vauld (2018–2022), one of Southeast Asia's larger crypto lending and trading platforms before the 2022 market events that led to suspension. Vauld's pre-2022 services are historical; the platform is not currently operating normally.

CLOB-Based Perpetuals Infrastructure

Defx's architecture centers on a native central limit order book (CLOB) with sub-millisecond matching, multi-collateral margining, and direct onboarding from multiple chains without bridges.

Vault-Based Liquidity Model

Defx introduces vault infrastructure allowing passive capital providers to earn protocol fees, creating a liquidity system designed to align active traders with passive yield providers.

Seed Fundraising with Institutional Backing

Led a $2.5M seed round in June 2025 with participation from Pantera Capital, CMT Digital, Gumi Cryptos, CoinShares, Robot Ventures, and others — providing early institutional validation for the Defx protocol architecture.

Timeline

Early Career

Pre-Vauld experience included partnerships roles at TapChief and Piramal Capital. Verify exact titles, dates, and responsibilities from direct professional records.

2018 — Vauld Co-Founded

Co-founded Vauld with Sanju Sony Kurian, building a Singapore-based crypto lending and trading platform that grew to serve users across Southeast Asia and India.

2021 — Vauld Growth

Vauld described as having nearly 1 million users at its peak, offering crypto-backed loans, high-yield accounts, and spot trading. These figures are historical and cannot be independently verified by Bitnxt.

July 2022 — Vauld Suspension

Vauld suspended all withdrawals, trading, and deposits. The company entered a restructuring/moratorium process in Singapore.

September 2023 — Management Exit

Darshan Bathija and Sanju Kurian reportedly stepped down from Vauld management; a new board assumed responsibility for the restructuring process. (Source: The CapTable, October 2023.)

2025 — Defx Labs Founded

Co-founded Defx Labs with Sanju Sony Kurian and Soumyadeep Das. Defx raised $2.5M in seed funding (June 2025) to build a Layer 1 dark pool DEX for perpetual futures with encrypted order flow.

2026

Active as Co-Founder and CEO of Defx Labs. Protocol development, liquidity expansion, and community-building initiatives ongoing. Verify current Defx mainnet/testnet status on defx.com.

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