FUNDING | Crypto Neo-Bank, Shield, Raises $5 Million Seed to Enable Cross-Border Trade via Stablecoins – Identifies Africa as a Key Market

Crypto neo-bank, Shield, has secured a $5 million seed round, led by:

• Giant Ventures

with participation from:

• a16z’s crypto accelerator
• Coinbase, and
• Bank of America

The startup enables exporters and importers to settle cross-border transactions using U.S. crypto (stablecoins) while offering compliance tools to manage sanctions and anti-money laundering risks.


Since its founding in 2022 (and a pivot to payments in 2024), Shield has processed over $150 million in payments in the first year since pivoting, of which $40 million was processed in the most recent month alone.

Shield was Co-Founded by Emmanuel Udotong (CEO), his brother Isaiah, and college friend Luis Carchi – after the founders experienced frustration with international payments in a previous trade business. Their aim: to move blockchain beyond speculation and fraud, and into useful financial tools.

In a statement, Shield said:

“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.”

Emmanuel Udotong, Co-Founder and CEO, said he and his team started Shield because they were “disappointed by the lack of competing mainstream use cases for crypto.” Meanwhile, “bad actors” kept filling the space — and the headlines.

“We wanted to help bring blockchain technology into the real economy by solving real problems.

Today, trade businesses often wait days or weeks for international wires, pay high fees, and in many cases, can’t access U.S. dollars at all,” Udotong continued.

“Many companies face limited trade corridors, less buyer opportunities, stunted growth, and, in too many cases, failure.”

The company says two recent shifts have 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.

The company has identified that businesses in regions like:

• Latin America
• Africa, and
• Parts of Asia

are especially hurt by:

• Slow payments
• High fees, and
• Limited access to U.S. dollars

when doing global trade.

Shield’s service is targeted to ease those pain points via faster, lower-cost, more accessible cross-border payments over crypto rails.

Shield is registered in the U.S. as a money service business, and in the EU as a crypto exchange, highlighting its compliance-first strategy.

On the competitive front, Shield is entering a crowded space, up against fintechs and established actors like PayPal’s Xoom and Stripe’s Bridge.

With this new funding (which brings its total raised to $7 million) Shield plans to:

• Secure more banking partnerships (current ones are with two undisclosed banks).
• Bolster its compliance infrastructure, including expanding licensing, strengthening transaction monitoring and fraud detection, and scaling the compliance team.
• Enter new trade industries where businesses are similarly underserved.

CEO Emmanuel Udotong emphasises that beyond profit, the mission is about economic inclusion: helping underserved businesses survive and grow, thereby creating jobs and wealth in their communities – not leaving them behind.

About Shield

Shield is registered as a Money Services Business under the US Department of Treasury and and the the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and insured up to $1 million for loss, fraud, or theft.

The platform supports a wide range of global compliance frameworks, including GDPR, AMLD, CCPA, FinCEN, FATF, FCA, and MAS regulations.

Stay tuned to BitKE updates on stablecoins use across Africa.

Join our WhatsApp channel here.