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July 11, 2025 – Agora, the pioneering stablecoin platform building next-generation payments and asset infrastructure, today announced the successful close of its Series A funding round, raising an additional $50 million. The round was led by crypto venture capital giant Paradigm, with significant participation from existing investor Dragonfly. This latest investment brings Agora’s total funding to $62 million, following a $12 million Seed round led by Dragonfly in April 2024.
Agora is on a mission to accelerate the transition to blockchain-based financial services, building a global financial ecosystem that advances financial access and opportunity while significantly reducing costs associated with sending and receiving money. The company’s flagship product, AUSD, is an institutional-grade digital dollar pegged 1:1 with USD fiat, designed to be a public good and the foundation for a more efficient global financial system.
"What we wanted to do is really something novel, which is start by building the network," said Nick van Eck, CEO and Co-Founder of Agora. "We always had the view that we were going to do white-labeled issuance in a different way to how existing peers had done it."
Cofounded by Nick van Eck (son of prominent investment management CEO Jan van Eck), along with crypto veterans Drake Evans and Joe McGrady, Agora is carving out a unique position in the competitive stablecoin landscape. Unlike leading stablecoins such as Tether and Circle, Agora's business model is built around a white-labeling service, allowing other companies to launch their own, self-branded versions of AUSD. This approach enables partners to leverage AUSD's underlying interoperability, liquidity, and robust network effects.
"One of the things we believed in the very beginning was that stablecoins should be run like public goods, which to us meant the lion’s share of the revenue gets passed to the people who are providing value within this monetary network," added Drake Evans, Co-Founder of Agora. This yield-sharing model differentiates Agora and aligns incentives with its partners.
AUSD is backed 100% by Agora’s Reserves, which are composed of cash, overnight repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and short-term U.S. Treasury securities, managed in collaboration with trusted partners like State Street and VanEck. With a current market capitalization of $130 million, AUSD is gaining traction as a secure and freely tradable digital dollar.
Agora is also enhancing its ecosystem with innovative products like Instant Liquidity, which enables users to atomically mint AUSD against other major stablecoins such as USDC and USDT, positioning AUSD as an instant gateway to the global tokenized economy.
The company has forged strategic partnerships to expand AUSD's reach and utility. AUSD is now available for trading on Bullish with various pairs (e.g., BTC/AUSD, ETH/AUSD). Agora is collaborating with Juno (a Bitso Company) to facilitate on-chain FX and non-USD stablecoin operations, and with Bitkub, Thailand’s largest regulated exchange, to build liquidity against the Baht and grow AUSD adoption in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, Agora is a proud member of the Superstate Industry Council (SIC), collaborating with over 50 industry-leading firms to drive innovation and promote the adoption of tokenization across financial markets.
Charlie Noyes, General Partner at Paradigm, described Agora’s product as a "batteries-included stablecoin" that will allow companies to quickly create their own version without needing extensive engineering resources. This investment will enable Agora to further develop its platform, expand its global footprint, and continue to build out its ecosystem of partners, ultimately driving broader adoption of digital dollars and blockchain-based financial solutions worldwide. While the company is acquiring state money transmitter licenses in the U.S., its primary focus remains on international markets where demand for stablecoins is high due to local currency volatility and cross-border payment needs.
About Agora
Agora is a leading stablecoin platform building the next-generation payments and asset infrastructure for internet markets. With its flagship digital dollar, AUSD, Agora aims to accelerate the transition to blockchain-based financial services, fostering a global ecosystem that enhances financial access, reduces costs, and empowers businesses to move money at the speed of the internet. Backed by Paradigm, Dragonfly, and other strategic investors, Agora is committed to creating a more inclusive and efficient global financial system.
Compiled by CMO Intern team
