Shield Raises $5M to Boost Global Crypto Transactions
a16z crypto-backed Shield raises $5M to help facilitate international business transactions in crypto.
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Shield Raises $5M to Boost Global Crypto Transactions
a16z crypto-backed Shield raises $5M to help facilitate international business transactions in crypto Crypto neo-bank Shield has secured a $5 million seed round, with backing from a16z crypto and Giant Ventures. The funding marks a major step in Shield’s mission to simplify cross-border payments and bring blockchain technology into the real economy. Image Credits:Shield From Startup Pivot to Global Payments Player Founded in 2022, Shield originally explored other crypto use cases but pivoted to payments in 2024. Today, the platform helps exporters and importers move money across borders using U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies. Alongside payments, Shield integrates compliance checks to address sanctions and anti–money laundering risks. Co-founder and CEO Emmanuel Udotong explained that the team launched Shield to fix what they saw as crypto’s biggest gap: real-world applications. While bad actors dominated headlines, Shield wanted to show how blockchain could solve real problems, especial…