Paradigm leads $50 million Series A for stablecoin builder Agora

Crypto venture firm Paradigm has led a $50 million Series A funding round for Agora, the stablecoin startup that allows other firms to create versions of its U.S.-dollar stablecoin AUSD. The raise follows a $12 million seed round led by Dragonfly in 2024, bringing the total funding to roughly $62 million. Co-founder Nick van Eck — son of VanEck CEO Jan van Eck — launched Agora with former Coinbase engineers Drake Evans and Joe McGrady to provide businesses with a service for issuing branded stablecoins that settle on top of AUSD’s liquidity network.According to a Thursday post on X, that turnkey solution has formally debuted as a white-labeled stablecoin product. Out of the box, clients will be able to tap institutional-grade asset management, CeFi and DeFi integration, and zero-fee minting using USDT and USDC, per Agora’s post.“Today, we are excited to formally announce the launch of our white-labeled stablecoin product – a turnkey solution that enables enterprises and teams to instantly issue their own branded stablecoin in days, not months,” the announcement read.Stablecoin demandAUSD, which carries a market cap of roughly $130 million, is backed 1-for-1 by cash and short-term U.S. Treasurys held in a segregated reserve administered by State Street and VanEck. Partners who launch their own tokens through Agora share in the yield on those reserves — an incentive that the company believes can differentiate it from market incumbents, such as Tether's USDT and Circle’s USDC.Paradigm’s investment signals rising demand from fintechs and corporates looking to issue digital dollars without having to build the infrastructure from scratch. It also comes as more institutions, including multinationals and major banks, foray into the stablecoin market.U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins currently represent about $250 billion in circulation, according to The Block's data dashboard, but analysts from Ripple and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen project the sector could reach the trillions once clear U.S. rules are established.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.