The Numbers
Alta, the blockchain startup co-founded by Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang, closed a US$47.5 million Series A led by Index Ventures. Total funding: US$80 million (US$32.5m seed, US$47.5m Series A). Investors include GV, Blackbird, Square Peg and Capital 49, the investment firm established by Airwallex's founders.
The Melbourne and San Francisco-based company has approximately 25 employees. No valuation disclosed.
What They Are Building
Alta (previously called Metal) builds blockchain infrastructure for regulated financial institutions. The focus: stablecoin settlement, cross-border payments, foreign exchange and corporate treasury. Not a consumer crypto product.
The pitch is compliance-first infrastructure connected to fiat payment rails. Airwallex is an early design partner and plans to connect its global payments infrastructure to Alta, potentially giving the startup access to Airwallex's distribution across 200 countries and 90 currencies.
The Team
Zhang is co-founder. Loong Wang (co-founder and CEO) previously sold blockchain startup Ren to Alameda Research in 2021. Catherine Porter (president) led global partnerships for Meta's failed Libra digital currency project.
Sales motion is enterprise-led, targeting banks, fintecots and regulated institutions. With 25 people, this is not a traditional sales team build yet.
The Context
Zhang was publicly sceptical of crypto as recently as June 2025: "After 15 years, I still haven't seen a single use case where crypto has meaningfully helped solve a real problem." He changed his mind on stablecoins as settlement infrastructure for programmable payments.
Airwallex itself reported US$600 million ARR, US$130 billion annualised transaction volume and over 1,700 employees across 37 locations in 2024. More recent figures cite approximately 2,300 employees.
What It Means
This is institutional infrastructure, not retail crypto. The competitive field includes blockchain settlement platforms and incumbent payment providers like Stripe. If Airwallex integration delivers, Alta gets meaningful distribution. If not, it is another well-funded fintech competing for enterprise deals in a crowded space.
Watch the hiring. 25 people will not scale enterprise sales to banks globally. The next 12 months will show whether this stays technical infrastructure or builds a proper go-to-market motion.