Crypto neo-bank Shield announced on Monday that it has raised a five million dollar seed round led by Giant Ventures. The company launched in 2022 and pivoted to its current payments focus in 2024. It enables exporters and importers to conduct cross-border transactions using US dollar cryptocurrencies. The platform also provides essential compliance screenings to address sanctions and money laundering threats.
Emmanuel Udotong, co-founder and CEO, explained that he and his team started Shield due to their disappointment with the lack of compelling mainstream use cases for crypto. At the same time, they observed that bad actors were dominating the space and the headlines. Their goal was to help bring blockchain technology into the real economy by solving actual problems.
Udotong teamed up with his brother, Isaiah, and his college best friend, Luis Carchi, to tackle the challenge of using stablecoins for international payments. This was a specific pain point the trio had encountered when they previously tried to build a trade business. Udotong highlighted the current difficulties, noting that trade businesses in regions like Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia often wait days or weeks for international wires, pay high fees, and in many cases cannot access US dollars at all. These companies face limited trade corridors, fewer buyer opportunities, stunted growth, and even failure.
Shield aims to solve these problems by allowing international businesses to amplify their reach and profit through expanded access to customers in different markets. The company is registered as a Money Service Business in the United States and as a crypto exchange in the European Union.
The crypto sector has experienced a significant comeback over the past year, creating new unicorns and attracting hundreds of millions in investment after a difficult period. Shield reported that since its launch, it has processed over one hundred million dollars in payments, with forty million of that total coming from the last month alone. However, Shield is entering a competitive field with dozens of startups and established names like PayPal’s Xoom and Stripe’s Bridge.
Shield connected with its lead investor, Giant Ventures, through a fellow founder. Other participants in the funding round include Chris Dixon’s a16z crypto startup accelerator, Factor Capital, with strategic angel investment from Coinbase and Bank of America. To date, the company has raised a total of seven million dollars.
The new capital will be used to secure additional banking partnerships, building on the two main partners it already has, though their names were not disclosed. The funds will also support the continued development of its compliance product. This expansion includes broadening licensing coverage, upgrading transaction monitoring and fraud detection systems, and growing the compliance team’s headcount and expertise.
Ultimately, Udotong hopes that Shield will give businesses a more fair chance to compete on a global scale. He believes that if the company succeeds, more businesses in underserved regions will not only survive but grow, creating jobs and wealth for their communities instead of being left behind.