Augustus Secures $180M for Global Dollar Bank on Stablecoin Rails

Augustus, a fintech company founded by 25-year-old CEO Ferdinand Dabitz, has raised $180 million in a Series B funding round at a $1 billion valuation. The raise comes two months after the company received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to establish Augustus Bank, N.A. as a full-service national bank.

This is a rare achievement, with only eight full-service national bank charters granted since 2010. Augustus plans to build a federally regulated dollar clearing bank that can support stablecoin payments and 24/7 institutional settlement.

The company's pitch is to provide international fintechs and banks in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa with US dollar accounts and faster settlement infrastructure. This would eliminate the need for correspondent banks and intermediaries, which often slow down international settlement.