Cryptocurrency bank Augustus completes $180 million financing, led by Tiger Global

Augustus is a startup that is building a federally chartered clearing bank. The company stated that it has raised $180 million to expand its dollar payment infrastructure, while stablecoins are reshaping the global financial system. This round of financing values Augustus at $1 billion. The round was led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from investors such as Hummingbird Ventures, QED Investors, and founders of Nubank, Ramp, Circle, and Deel.

This financing comes at a time when banks, fintech companies, and crypto firms are competing to upgrade cross-border payment infrastructure. While the market's focus is largely on stablecoin issuers, Augustus is targeting a less noticed but crucial part of the financial system—the correspondent banking system. Augustus CEO Ferdinand Dabitz stated in an interview, "We believe that the distribution of financial services has hit a bottleneck at the clearing bank level." He pointed out that traditional clearing systems are "slow, not available 24/7, take two days to settle, and are closed on weekends."