Agora is a financial technology company focused on developing AUSD, a digital dollar stablecoin. The company aims to provide a fully collateralized, freely tradeable stablecoin that serves international markets with an emphasis on transparency, security, and a partner-centric economic model.^[1]

Overview

Agora was co-founded in 2024 by Nick van Eck, Drake Evans, and Joe McGrady. The company's mission is to accelerate the transition of money, payments, and banking to blockchain-based networks to advance financial access and reduce costs. Agora's primary product is AUSD, a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar. The company and its services are focused on markets outside of the United States.^{[6] [5]}

AUSD Stablecoin

AUSD is a fully collateralized digital dollar backed by a reserve fund composed of cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and overnight reverse repurchase agreements. The reserve fund is managed by VanEck, a global asset management firm with over $100 billion in assets under management, and the assets are custodied by State Street, which has $4.1 trillion in assets under management. The assets are held in a bankruptcy-remote trust and are regularly audited to ensure transparency and security.^{[8] [7]}

"Stablecoin 3.0" and Economic Model

Nick van Eck, CEO of Agora, has described AUSD as "Stablecoin 3.0." He distinguishes it from earlier stablecoins and criticizes "yield-bearing stablecoins," arguing they often function as securities, which limits their utility and acceptance as money. The "Stablecoin 3.0" model is designed to be business-friendly and credibly neutral. Unlike models where a single partner or the issuer retains most of the revenue (such as USDC with Coinbase or PYUSD with PayPal), Agora shares revenue with the businesses and applications that contribute to the AUSD network.^{[4] [9]}

Partners are compensated for services like listing the AUSD token, providing liquidity, marketing, and accepting AUSD as a form of payment or collateral. This revenue-sharing model is intended to create a more equitable ecosystem, allowing partners to reinvest in their own development, security, and user acquisition. While businesses that build on the network participate in the economics, individual retail holders of AUSD do not receive any direct yield or income from Agora's reserves.^[10]

Market Position and Strategy

Agora positions AUSD as a foundational element for both decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) applications. Van Eck has emphasized the critical role of stablecoins in emerging markets, such as Argentina and India, where they can provide a hedge against local currency inflation and bypass capital controls. The company aims to address the high demand for U.S. dollars in international trade and savings, particularly in Asia. By focusing on markets outside the U.S., Agora seeks to fill a gap for underbanked populations who can access dollar-denominated financial services through a smartphone.^[6]

History

• April 2024: Agora was announced after raising $12 million in a seed funding round.^[11]
• May 2024: CEO Nick van Eck published a blog post detailing the "Stablecoin 3.0" concept behind AUSD.^[4]
• June 2024: AUSD was scheduled to launch on the Ethereum Mainnet.^[9]
• August 2024: AUSD launched on the Avalanche blockchain network.^[10]
• September 2024: The stablecoin deployed on Sui, making it the first institutional-grade U.S. dollar stablecoin in the Sui DeFi ecosystem and its first launch on a non-EVM chain.^[12]
• October 2024: AUSD launched as the first native stablecoin on the Injective blockchain.^[7]
• November 2024: Polygon's AggLayer, a cross-chain settlement network, adopted AUSD as its native stablecoin to unify liquidity across connected chains without the need for traditional token bridges.^[13]
• January 2025: Agora and asset manager Galaxy executed the first over-the-counter (OTC) transaction of AUSD, marking its transition from a proof-of-concept to a real-world application.^[14]
• January 2025: Agora announced a strategic partnership with digital asset custodian Copper to provide secure custody support for AUSD.^[15]
• September 2025: Agora announced plans to expand AUSD to five new chains, including Sei, Berachain, and Citrea, using LayerZero's interoperability protocol.^[16]

Technology and Features

Reserves and Security

AUSD is designed as a fully collateralized stablecoin, backed 1:1 by a basket of high-quality liquid assets, including cash, U.S. Treasury securities, and overnight repurchase agreements. The reserves are managed by VanEck and held in custody by State Street, providing institutional-grade security and oversight. The structure is designed to be bankruptcy-remote, protecting the assets from any financial issues related to Agora itself. The AUSD token contract follows the ERC-20 standard and includes features such as privileged account-controlled minting and burning, as well as an asset-freezing mechanism to prevent financial crimes.^{[11] [7]}

Proof of Reserves

In May 2025, Agora integrated Chaos Labs' Proof of Reserves solution. This allows for transparent, on-chain monitoring and verification of AUSD's asset backing, ensuring that the stablecoin remains fully collateralized at all times.^[5]

Instant Liquidity and White-Labeling

Agora offers additional infrastructure products beyond its primary stablecoin. "Instant Liquidity" enables users to atomically mint AUSD against other major stablecoins like USDC and USDT, creating a seamless gateway into the AUSD ecosystem. The company also provides "White-labeled Stablecoins," a service that allows partners to launch their own branded stablecoins using Agora's underlying infrastructure, tapping into AUSD's global liquidity network from day one.^[1]

Ecosystem and Integrations

Blockchain Networks

AUSD is a multi-chain stablecoin designed for interoperability. As of late 2025, it is deployed on several major blockchains, including:

• Ethereum
• Avalanche
• Sui
• Injective
• Polygon (via AggLayer)
• Solana
• Mantle The list of supported networks continues to expand, with planned launches on Sei, Berachain, and Citrea.^[17][7][16]

Key Partnerships

Agora has established a wide range of partnerships across the financial and crypto industries.

• Institutional & Financial: Key partners include VanEck (reserve management), State Street (custody), Galaxy (first OTC trade partner), and Copper (custody services).^[7][14][15]
• DeFi & Infrastructure: On Avalanche, AUSD integrated with protocols such as Trader Joe, BENQI, Pharaoh Exchange, Dexalot, and Wombat Exchange. It also partnered with Trensi, a cross-border payments protocol. Other infrastructure partners include LayerZero for cross-chain expansion and Tempo for enterprise payments.^{[16] [10]}
• Exchanges: AUSD is available for trading on centralized exchanges like BingX, LBank, and XT.COM, as well as institutional platforms like Bullish.^[18][19]

Founders and Team

Agora was founded by a team with deep experience in both traditional finance and the crypto industry.^[11]

• Nick van Eck (Co-Founder and CEO): Previously a partner at the venture capital firm General Catalyst, where he invested in enterprise software and blockchain companies. He also worked at JMI Equity and has a family background in finance through the asset management firm VanEck.^[6]
• Drake Evans (Co-Founder and CTO): Formerly the Head of Lending and Core Engineering Lead at Frax Finance, where he led the development of smart contracts for products like Fraxlend and frxEther. He also has experience scaling data-intensive applications in regulated environments from his time at ADP.^[11]
• Joe McGrady (Co-Founder and COO): Has nearly two decades of experience in operations, finance, and risk management. Before Agora, he was the Global Head of Operations at Galaxy Digital, where he helped scale its trading, lending, and asset management businesses.^[11]

Funding

In April 2024, Agora raised $12 million in a seed funding round led by Dragonfly. Other participants included Robot Ventures, General Catalyst, Hack VC, Kraken Ventures, Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund, Foresight Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, Galaxy, and Consensys.^[3]

In 2025, Agora announced a $50 million Series A funding round led by Paradigm.^[5]

Market Data and Adoption

Since its launch, AUSD has seen significant growth. Within its first two weeks on Ethereum, it minted $40 million, and in its first six weeks across Ethereum and Avalanche, it reached nearly $60 million in circulation. By October 2024, its circulating supply had grown to over $65 million with more than $15 million in daily volume.^{[7] [10] [12]}

As of September 2025, AUSD's market capitalization was approximately $128 million, with a 24-hour trading volume of over $25 million. According to Agora's company data, its network has processed over $12 billion in total volume across more than 8 million transfers, serving over 100 businesses and 55,000 users.^{[5] [18] [20]}