US crypto bank Avanti raises $37m in Series A funding
The Avanti Financial Group has landed $37 million in a Series A funding round to support its digital asset bank.
Wyoming has a welcoming approach to digital assets and cryptocurrency
Avanti is intended to serve as a connector between the traditional US payments system and the world of digital assets.
Founded in 2020, it gained a banking charter from the state of Wyoming that same year. It is only the second-ever crypto company to land status as a bank in the US, after Kraken Financial.
Its Series A shareholders include1843 Capital, AP Capital, Banca del Ceresio, Binance, and Coinbase Ventures.
The $37 million is going towards funding regulatory capital requirements, and building out an engineering team.
Caitlin Long, Avanti founder and CEO, says her firm plans an application programming interface (API) based US dollar payment services integrated with Swift and ACH.
Avanti also plans the launch of its own tokenised, programmable US dollar, and on-ramp services for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
“We have received more than 2,500 inbound customer inquiries since announcing receipt of our bank charter,” she adds.
“We look forward to being able to service customers later this year [and] expect to provide more details about our launch soon.”
Long is a 22-year Wall Street veteran, with experience at Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Salomon Brothers.
Wyoming has a welcoming approach to digital assets and cryptocurrency. The Equality State enacted House Bill 74 in 2019, authorising the chartering of special-purpose depository institutions (SPDIs).
These new institutions are effectively banks able to receive deposits and conduct asset management, but not lend to customers.
Related: Non-fungible tokens: how do you regulate a non-conventional marketplace?
