A Vision Born from Personal Experience

When we first came into the blockchain space as a team, our focus was clear: ensure that people from our backgrounds as founders of Latin American and African descent would benefit from the advancements of blockchain technology and not be left behind.

We didn’t arrive at payments overnight. It was through our own grueling experiences as former exporters that the opportunity became obvious. International banking and payments are the choke points holding back entire trade corridors.

When we saw how stablecoins could move money cross-border instantly and transparently, it clicked: this technology could finally give underserved exporters the financial reliability they need to stand on equal footing with their global competitors.

This is no exaggeration. It’s the lived reality for many exporters moving money internationally. Even with invoices, shipping records, and proper documentation, accounts are frequently closed, and legitimate payments can get stuck in limbo for days or weeks.

Compliance systems built for $50–100 domestic consumer transfers aren’t designed to handle the size, complexity, and speed requirements of modern cross-border trade — with transaction sizes often ranging in the 6–7 figures.

For companies built on maximizing turnover, this widespread issue ties up capital, blocks growth, and in many cases forces businesses to shut down altogether.

Helping Global Trade Businesses Grow with Stablecoins

Shield is pioneering a neobank designed specifically for global trade businesses. We help exporters accept stablecoin payments (USDT) from their international buyers and settle them as same-day USD wires, combining traditional currencies and digital currencies, also known as “stablecoins,” like USDT and USDC.

Businesses get the speed and cost savings of blockchain payments without the constant fear of account closures and unwarranted delays. It also enables them to trade in entirely new markets.

We’ve already seen an incredible demand for these services. In our first year, we processed over $150 million in cross-border payments — $40 million in the last month alone — for real businesses moving real goods.

The Moment for Stablecoins to Shape Global Trade

Two recent shifts have finally made this innovation possible:

• Regulatory tailwinds — Newly passed legislation in the GENIUS Act has created clear stablecoin-specific guidelines that protect consumers.
• Technology maturity — Advances in blockchain infrastructure, modern banking APIs, and AI-driven compliance finally provide the speed, scale, and precision this market demands without cutting corners.

A Trade-Specific Approach to Compliance

We’ve verticalized compliance for global trade flows — embedding controls, thresholds, and risk assessments that fit legitimate exporters while still flagging real risks. This minimizes false positives without lowering the bar for compliance.

We also leverage AI in our compliance department, equipping our team with “super powers” to handle far more work than previously possible. Instead of hiring hundreds of people to manually review documents, AI enables our lean team to focus on higher-value tasks, scaling operations efficiently without sacrificing rigor.

Who We Are

Our founding team comes from MIT, Princeton, Facebook, and McKinsey. Four years ago, we built our first products in digital asset security and before Shield, we operated export businesses — moving millions in commodities between the US, South America, Africa, and Asia.

Few teams combine both deep technical experience in blockchain and a nuanced understanding of global trade flows and the unique needs of exporters. This dual perspective defines how we build.

Fuel for Our Mission

To scale our impact, we’ve raised $5 million in seed funding, bringing our total to $7 million. The round was led by Giant Ventures, with participation from existing investors a16z crypto CSX and new backers like Factor Capital, alongside strategic angels from Bank of America, Coinbase, AMEX, and Menlo Ventures.

This funding will allow us to:

• Expand licensing coverage and strengthen compliance.
• Launch USDT-friendly bank accounts and more banking products.
• Enter new trade industries where businesses are similarly underserved.

Demand for Shield’s USDT-friendly accounts has been overwhelming, so we’re rolling them out with limited capacity on a first-come, first-serve basis. Learn more and sign up here.

The Next Chapter

We see a world where global trade payments are as fast as domestic wires, where compliance opens doors rather than closes them, and where exporters from every corner of the world can enjoy a banking and payments experience that finally optimizes for them.

Shield will build the infrastructure to make it happen — and this raise is just the start.

Shield is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cross River Bank and Lead Bank through licensed partners, members FDIC.