Solana Ventures leads $18M round for Squads’ Altitude
Solana Ventures led an $18 million equity round in Squads to expand Altitude, its Solana-based stablecoin platform, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures and L1D.
Squads raised $18 million in a priced equity round led by Solana Ventures to scale Altitude, the company’s Solana-based stablecoin platform. Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, L1D and other investors participated. Fundraising began in October and the round closed in December in a single tranche. The new capital brings Squads’ total funding to $42.9 million; Haun Ventures returned as an investor.
Altitude provides businesses with a self-custodial account that holds treasuries in stablecoins rather than in fractional-reserve bank accounts. The platform supports 24/7 stablecoin transactions and automations intended to replace some bank-dependent processes. Since Altitude’s public launch in December, Squads reports the platform has processed more than $200 million in payments for exporters, global agencies, crypto-native firms and cross-border remote teams.
Squads co-founder and CEO Stepan Simkin declined to disclose the company valuation or whether any investors took board or observer seats in this round. Simkin argued that Solana’s network performance and recent regulatory developments make it possible to build a bank-grade platform on programmable blockchains. He added, “Businesses are better off running on stablecoins than on banks.”
The product includes compliance and security measures aimed at business adoption. Altitude deploys continuous sanctions screening, anti-money-laundering checks, transaction monitoring and know-your-business verification. The platform can connect with payment service providers such as Bridge and MoonPay to expand global coverage and pricing options.
Matthew Beck, head of Solana Ventures, pointed to Squads’ technical background and the team’s Solana-based multisignature protocol as reasons for the investment. Beck said, “Stablecoins and programmable blockchains are rewriting how global finance works,” and described the team as having the technical depth to build a financial platform on that infrastructure.
Squads currently employs 38 people and is hiring for marketing, sales and compliance roles.
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