Avanti Financial Group, the crypto-focused bank backed by Caitlin Long, has announced on Tuesday the closure of a $5 million angel round.
The University of Wyoming Foundation led the funding round with participation from Morgan Creek Digital, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Lemniscap, Madison Paige Ventures, and Malex Enterprises, among others.
Commenting on the funding, Long said: “We are building critical infrastructure for the digital asset industry at Avanti, and the magnitude and mix of our support underscore that multiple camps want to see this infrastructure built. Our round was significantly oversubscribed just from incoming inquiries alone, and I'm especially proud of the broad support Avanti received from Wyoming-based organizations and individuals.”
Bringing banking to crypto
Long is a strong voice in the crypto community and is known for her push to bring crypto legislation as she was one of the key members to shape the crypto regulations in the US state of Wyoming.
She first unveiled Avanti earlier this year focusing its services only to the institutional client base and will provide payment, custody, securities, and commodities activities. It was set up with a $1 million seed funding.
The fresh capitals were raised when the bank is still in the process of obtaining a bank charter from the United States authorities. It has already submitted its first draft last week.
“The Investment Committee voted to invest in Avanti because we see significant growth potential for digital assets, we see an acute need for institutional-quality infrastructure to support this new asset class, and we believe in the ability of Caitlin's team to deliver it,” Philip Treick, chief investment officer of the University of Wyoming Foundation, said.
“UW has already benefited significantly from cryptocurrency donations but we have faced real logistical challenges in accepting them. We are confident Avanti can simplify and streamline the process for donors making it easier to raise even more money to support UW's blockchain efforts, including our WyoHackathon, which have already gained UW worldwide recognition.”
