Nick van Eck, the son of renowned investment management expert Jan van Eck, is preparing to launch a fresh stablecoin backed by the United States dollar. This comes after the completion of a $12 million funding round. In October, crypto veterans Drake Evans and Joe McGrady teamed up with van Eck to establish Agora, which will introduce the Agora digital dollar (AUSD). The CEO of Agora will be Nick van Eck himself.
The AUSD stablecoin will be fully supported by cash, U.S. Treasury bills, and overnight repo agreements. VanEck, a $90 billion asset management firm led by Jan van Eck, will oversee a fund that manages Agora’s reserves. VanEck’s director of digital assets, Kyle DaCrzu, emphasized the importance of transparent and reliable institutions to handle the assets of digital dollars.
The $12 million seed funding round was spearheaded by digital asset venture capital firm Dragonfly, with additional investments from Robot Ventures, Wintermute, Breed, and General Catalyst. It is worth noting that van Eck had previously worked as a partner at General Catalyst. Evans, who previously held the position of head of lending at decentralized finance firm Frax Finance, and McGrady, who served as the director of operations at digital asset management firm Galaxy Digital, joined forces with van Eck for this venture.
Agora’s parent company is incorporated in Delaware, while the stablecoin issuer is based in the British Virgin Islands. Initially, Agora will only cater to select markets outside of the United States. Van Eck explained that until there is federal legislation for stablecoins in the U.S., their primary focus will be on customers outside of the country. Van Eck anticipates that countries like Argentina and Southeast Asia will benefit the most from a digital dollar.
Agora is entering a competitive stablecoin market, currently dominated by Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC). These two stablecoins have respective market caps of $104.3 billion and $32.5 billion, according to CoinGecko. However, van Eck believes there is still room for a newcomer like Agora. The company intends to establish strong partnerships with various industry players, including cryptocurrency exchanges, custodians, decentralized applications, and trading firms.
Van Eck clarified that AUSD holders will not receive income like holders of the collapsed TerraClassicUSD (USTC) did back in May 2022. Agora has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In conclusion, Agora’s launch of the AUSD stablecoin brings a new player into the stablecoin market. With its solid backing and strategic partnerships, Agora aims to make a mark in the industry and serve customers outside of the United States.