Caitlin Long’s Avanti Raises $5M, Submits Wyoming Banking Charter Application

Crypto bank Avanti now has the backing of several popular investors in crypto.

The bank raised $5 million in an angel round and closed on a subscription to issue an additional amount at its option at a later date, said Avanti CEO Caitlin Long. 

The round was led by the University of Wyoming Foundation with participation from Anthony Pompliano’s Morgan Creek Digital, Blockchain Capital, Digital Currency Group, Lemniscap, Madison Paige Ventures, Malex Enterprises, Susan B. Anthony, LLC, Gary Gigot and others.

“This announcement means Avanti is sufficiently funded to get through the process of applying for a charter application,” Long said. 

The bank will still have to raise additional capital if it is granted a charter, Long said, and it’s still working with regulators on what that capital amount would look like, but for now the institution has enough cash to go through the application process with the Wyoming Division of Banking. 

Long also announced that the bank submitted the first draft of its application with the regulator last week, and plans to open for business in early 2021.

She revealed the bank now has three core bitcoin developers on its engineering staff but could not name which ones for “security reasons.” Bitcoin developer Bryan Bishop is Avanti’s CTO.

As part of the funding round, Philip Treick, the University of Wyoming Foundation’s chief investment officer, will take a seat on Avanti’s board of directors.