Digital asset bank Avanti raises $37 million in Series A ahead of launch

Digital asset bank Avanti raised $37 million in a Series A round, according to an announcement from the bank. That brings its total raised since inception to $44 million. 

A number of individual investors participated in the round, including some of Avanti's executives and directors. Binance.US, Coinbase Ventures, Morgan Creek Digital and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments are among its institutional investors. 

The raise will provide the capital needed to launch, as required by regulators. The funds will also support the engineering and operating expenses. 

Avanti first gained bank charter status from the state of Wyoming in October of last year. It is the second crypto company to become a bank after Kraken Bank. This allows the crypto firm to provide final and simultaneous trade settlements between crypto and the dollar.

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With the help of the raise, founder Caitlin Long said Avanti plans to issue its dollar-pegged token Avit, as well as custody on and off-ramp services for crypto. As of now, it has over 2,500 inbound customer inquiries, according to Long.

However, it also means Avanti is obligated to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering compliance standards and other bank compliance standards.

Further launch details will be coming soon, according to Avanti.

Editor's Note: a previous version of this story referred to Kraken Bank as Kraken Financial. Kraken Financial rebranded to Kraken Bank late last year. 

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.