Caitlin Long, the chief executive of Avanti, the first “crypto bank” in the United States, recently said that Avanti raised US$5 million in an angel round of financing to complete the subscription, and thereafter will issue an optional additional amount. Avanti is expected to open for business in early 2021.
Avanti, based in Wyoming, issued a public statement on June 2 stating that it successfully completed an angel round of financing to apply for a bank financial license. This round of investment was initiated by the University of Wyoming Foundation, including Morgan Creek Digital Morgan Creek Cryptocurrency Investment Company, blockchain venture capital Blockchain Capital, venture capital company Digital Currency Group and other financial technology industry companies and individuals participated in the investment.
Image source: Avantibank.com
Philip Treick, Chief Investment Officer of the University of Wyoming Foundation, said, “The Investment Committee voted to invest in Avanti because we saw the huge growth potential of Crypto assets and the urgent need for this new asset to achieve institutional quality infrastructure.
Treick said that the foundation trusts the Avanti team to help the University of Wyoming solve the logistics problem of accepting cryptocurrency investments. “The University of Wyoming has already obtained huge benefits from cryptocurrency donations, but when accepting these donations, we are faced with practical logistics. Challenge. We believe that Avanti can streamline the donation process for donors and help the University of Wyoming raise more funds to support its blockchain research.” Treick will also become a member of Avanti’s board of directors.
CoinDesk reported that Avanti has now raised enough funds to apply for a license to the Wyoming State Government Banking Department. If the application is approved, Avanti will need more funds to implement the operation of the cryptocurrency bank. Long said that Avanti had submitted the first draft of the license application to the regulator last week and is expected to open for business in early 2021.
Long pointed out that Avanti currently has three core Bitcoin developers, but for security reasons, it is impossible to disclose their names.