Augustus Raises $180M for Federally Chartered Stablecoin Bank
In brief
- Augustus raised $180 million Series B led by Tiger Global at $1 billion valuation
- Federally chartered clearing bank designed for stablecoins and programmable money infrastructure
- Platform supports operating and FBO accounts via Swift, ACH, SEPA, and stablecoins
- Expansion planned across Latin America, Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa
Stablecoin Infrastructure for Banks and Fintechs
Rather than issuing its own stablecoin, Augustus is building infrastructure that lets banks and fintechs transact across traditional and blockchain networks. Its API-first platform supports operating and FBO accounts and settles via Swift, ACH, SEPA and stablecoins, according to the company.
The infrastructure runs on a proprietary core banking system called Marble that enables faster settlement and 24/7 availability. Augustus already counts crypto exchange Kraken among its customers.
Regulatory Milestone and Global Expansion
Augustus received conditional approval for a U.S. national bank charter from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in May, making it the eighth bank to win conditional approval since 2010. The regulatory green light underscores growing institutional appetite for blockchain-native banking infrastructure.
The Series B round included participation from Hummingbird, QED, and the founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle, and Deel. The startup plans to use the capital to expand across Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Augustus framed its effort partly as a geopolitical bet, noting China's digital yuan and Russia's proposed BRICS Pay as catalysts for building independent stablecoin rails. The company's focus on correspondent banking—a notoriously slow, fragmented layer of global finance—positions it at the intersection of traditional banking and crypto infrastructure.
