Stablecoin startup Agora has raised $50 million in a Series A funding round led by crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, with participation from existing investor Dragonfly Capital.
Why it matters: The funding will support Agora’s mission to expand its white-label stablecoin platform, AUSD, and challenge industry giants like Circle and Tether in the increasingly competitive stablecoin market.
The details:
- Agora was co-founded by Nick van Eck, son of VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, along with crypto veterans Drake Evans and Joe McGrady.
- The company’s platform allows other companies to launch their own branded stablecoins using AUSD’s infrastructure, benefiting from shared liquidity and interoperability.
- Agora has already collaborated with crypto projects like Polygon and plans to extend its partnerships beyond the blockchain space.
- The Series A funding follows a $12 million seed round last year.
Agora’s entry into the stablecoin market places it in competition with established players such as Circle and Tether, whose stablecoins have market capitalizations of $62 billion and $158 billion, respectively, compared to Agora’s $130 million.
The background: Regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. has prompted Agora to prioritize international markets, targeting regions with high currency volatility and cross-border payment needs. However, pending U.S. legislation may open doors for Agora stateside, with the company preparing to acquire money transmitter licenses.
What they’re saying:
- “What we wanted to do is really something novel, which is start by building the network. We always had the view that we were going to do white-labeled issuance in a different way to how existing peers had done it,” said Nick van Eck.
- “One of the things we believed in the very beginning was that stablecoins should be run like public goods, which to us meant the lion’s share of the revenue gets passed to the people who are providing value,” said Drake Evans.
What’s next: With substantial backing and a novel approach to stablecoin issuance, Agora is poised to make significant strides in the competitive stablecoin market. The company’s focus on international expansion and innovative partnerships could position it as a noteworthy player in the evolving landscape of digital assets.