Shield, a pioneering neobank focused on global trade, has announced the raise $5 of million in seed funding, bringing its total funding to $7 million.
The round was led by Giant Ventures, with participation from existing investor a16z crypto and new backers such as Factor Capital, along with strategic angel investors from Bank of America, Coinbase, American Express (AMEX), and Menlo Ventures.
With the new funding, Shield plans to:
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•Expand licensing coverage and enhance its compliance capabilities.
•Launch USDT-friendly bank accounts and additional banking products tailored to exporters.
•Enter new trade verticals where businesses face similar payment and compliance challenges. Given the overwhelming demand for its services, Shield will initially roll out USDT-friendly accounts with limited capacity on a first-come, first-served basis.
Commenting on the seed round, Shield co-founder and CEO Emmanuel Udotobong, via a LinkedIn post expressed excitement about the company’s recent milestone.
Part of his post reads,
“Our mission is to build the neobank for global trade enabling faster, more reliable, and compliant cross-border payments powered by stablecoins like USDT. In our first year public, we’ve processed $150M+ in transactions including $40M last month alone serving real businesses moving real goods. Thank you to our incredible clients, team, and investors for believing in this mission. This is just the beginning.”
Launched in 2022, Shield’s founding team comprises of talent from MIT, Princeton, Facebook, and McKinsey, combining deep technical expertise in blockchain with hands-on experience in global trade. This dual perspective positions the crypto firm to uniquely address the financial pain points of exporters, particularly in underserved regions such as Latin America and Africa.
Shield’s mission stems from the personal experiences of its founders, who have first-hand knowledge of the challenges faced by exporters. Before launching, the founding team operated export businesses, moving millions of dollars’ worth of commodities across the U.S., South America, Africa, and Asia. These experiences exposed the choke points in international banking and payments that stifle trade and economic growth.
Despite providing proper documentation such as invoices and shipping records, legitimate payments often get stuck for days or even weeks, while accounts are closed without warning.
Traditional compliance systems, originally built for small domestic transactions of $50–$100, are ill-equipped to handle high-value, cross-border trade payments in the six- or seven-figure range. This creates operational bottlenecks, locks up working capital, and forces many exporters to shut down entirely.
In its mission to solve this challenge, Shield offers a USDT-friendly neobank solution designed specifically for exporters and global trade businesses. The platform enables exporters to accept stablecoin payments, such as USDT, from international buyers and settle them as same-day USD wire transfers.
This hybrid approach combines the speed and cost savings of blockchain with the reliability of traditional banking systems. Exporters gain financial stability and operational flexibility while eliminating the risk of sudden account closures or payment delays.
With its innovative offering and services Shield’s demand has been remarkable. In just its first year of operations, the crypto neo-bank has processed over $150 million in cross-border payments, including $40 million in August alone, supporting real businesses engaged in the movement of goods worldwide.
According to the company two major shifts have paved the way for it’s innovative model which include;
• Regulatory clarity: The recently enacted GENIUS Act has established clear, stablecoin-specific guidelines, offering stronger consumer protections and a legal framework for adoption.
• Technology maturity: Advances in blockchain infrastructure, modern banking APIs, and AI-driven compliance systems now enable Shield to deliver the speed, scale, and security required for global trade without compromising compliance standards.
Notably, Shield has verticalized its compliance strategy, tailoring it to the complexities of cross-border trade. This ensures legitimate exporters can operate smoothly while suspicious activities are flagged effectively.
The company leverages AI-powered compliance tools to dramatically increase efficiency. Instead of hiring hundreds of manual reviewers, Shield’s lean compliance team uses AI to process massive amounts of documentation, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks while maintaining rigorous oversight.
The Bigger Vision
Shield envisions a future where global trade payments move as seamlessly as domestic wires, where compliance becomes a gateway for opportunity rather than an obstacle, and where exporters around the world particularly from developing regions gain access to reliable, transparent, and efficient financial services.
With its latest funding round, the crypto-neobank is poised to transform the way exporters conduct cross-border business, driving greater inclusion and growth across the global trade ecosystem.