Caitlin Long’s Avanti Raises $37M Ahead of Crypto Bank Launch

Crypto bank Avanti raised $37 million from Series A investors as it prepares to take its digital banking operations online.

In a press release, parent company Avanti Financial Group said Coinbase Ventures, Binance.US, Morgan Creek Digital, Slow Ventures and the University of Wyoming Foundation, among others, participated in the funding round. Avanti has raised $44 million total, the group said.

Avanti said it will put the funds toward meeting regulatory capital requirements and further invest in its engineering team. It gained special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) status in October, joining fellow Wyoming-based crypto firm Kraken as one of the few digital companies with the banking charter.

At the time, CEO Caitlin Long told CoinDesk that Avanti needed to raise more capital before it could receive a certificate of authority to operate. 

Avanti is preparing to launch later this year, Long said in the press release.

“A lot of people and crypto-native companies of all stripes, exchanges, traders, lenders, banks and also a number of non-crypto companies have also actively reached out to us because they understand [CTO] Bryan Bishop and his team have different capabilities” than traditional banks, Long said in an interview.

Avanti’s final pre-launch task will be getting clearance to bank with the Federal Reserve, Long said.

“Plugging crypto directly into the us dollar payment system, that has never been done before,” she added.

"Many look at our statutory requirement of $5 million, but I can tell you it is actually far in excess of that," Wyoming Division of Banking Commissioner Albert Forkner told CoinDesk via email. "The level that Avanti announced is consistent with our expectations and other applicants."

Update (March 25, 20:50 UTC): Add comments from Avanti's Caitlin Long.