Dakota, a crypto-integrated banking platform for businesses, has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round to expand its borderless banking services, the firm said on Tuesday.
The investment was led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures and Triton Ventures.
The announcement comes at a time when stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies tied to an external asset, predominantly to the U.S. dollar, are increasingly becoming part of traditional finance plumbing and a tool for cheaper, faster cross-border payments. Stablecoin regulation is also advancing in the U.S., with the Senate already having passed the GENIUS Act and the House aiming to vote on the proposal on Thursday.
“We believe stablecoins can revolutionize business banking,” Alex Felix, CIO of CoinFund, said in a statement. “Dakota is unlocking that potential by combining the familiarity of a bank account with the power of crypto rails.”
The startup, founded by alumni of Coinbase, Square, and Airbnb, lets businesses hold and move funds in U.S. dollars or stablecoins while using traditional payment networks like ACH, SWIFT and SEPA. Businesses can send or receive payments via regular bank accounts on the platform without touching crypto directly. Behind the scenes, it uses blockchain to settle transfers nearly instantly, offering an alternative to conventional banking.
The firm keeps customer deposits fully reserved and backed 1:1 by short-term U.S. Treasuries, aiming to eliminate liquidity and counterparty risks.
With the funding, the firm is now expanding its services to over 100 countries, including the UK, European Union, Singapore and parts of Latin America.
“Business today is borderless, and dollars are a universal language,” said Dakota CEO Ryan Bozarth. “We want to give entrepreneurs from Bogotá to Bangalore the same access to U.S. dollar banking that a startup in San Francisco would have.”
