In brief
- Agora raised $50 million from Paradigm and Dragonfly to expand AUSD, its programmable stablecoin.
- AUSD now runs on 13 blockchains.
- The raise comes as stablecoin legislation is making its way through the United States Congress.
Stablecoin platform Agora has raised $50 million in a Series A round led by Paradigm, with additional backing from Dragonfly Capital, the company announced on Thursday.
The funding will support the expansion of Agora’s all-in-one system for issuing and managing stablecoins, as well as the introduction of its new white-labeled stablecoin product.
“We believe stablecoins will underpin a new financial fabric, one that is faster, more global, and more efficient than today’s siloed systems,” the company said. “Agora exists to change that.”
The raise comes as stablecoin legislation is making its way through the United States Congress. In June, the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act, which establishes a framework for issuing and trading stablecoins.
The company was co-founded by Nick van Eck, the son of fund management luminary Jan van Eck, along with crypto veterans Drake Evans, and Joe McGrady. Agora raised $12 million in a seed round last spring.
Agora’s stablecoin platform, which debuted last year, enables developers and institutions to introduce and manage programmable digital dollars.
Decypt reached out to Agora for additional comment but did not immediately receive a response.
The platform’s native stablecoin, AUSD, has rolled out across multiple networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, and Arbitrum. Agora’s stablecoin is backed by cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and repurchase agreements. Firms using Agora’s services include Nonco, Flowdesk, VanEck, Conduit, and Plume Network.
With the new capital, the company said it would introduce a white-label stablecoin service that allows enterprises to launch their own branded stablecoins without having to manage the underlying infrastructure themselves.
“No need to manage complex infrastructure, secure banking relationships, liquidity, or build from scratch,” the company said.
The white-labeled stablecoin initiative comes amid renewed interest from large financial players in blockchain-based payments and settlement tools. Traditional firms, including Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and PayPal, have begun rolling out stablecoin products.
“Stablecoins are no longer niche,” the company said. “They’ve become a foundational primitive for the future of finance and capital markets.”
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https://decrypt.co/329634/agora-raises-50-million-power-next-wave-stablecoins