""We wanted to help bring blockchain technology into the real economy by solving real problems," Udotong told TechCrunch. So, he teamed up with his brother Isaiah and his college best friend, Luis Carchi, and to address how stablecoins could be used in international payments, as that was a pain point the trio faced when they last tried to build a trade business."
"The company launched in 2022 and pivoted to payments in 2024. It allows exporters and importers to conduct cross-border transactions in US cryptocurrencies, while also providing compliance screenings, such as addressing sanctions and money laundering threats. Emmanuel Udotong, co-founder and CEO, said he and his team started Shield because they were "disappointed by the lack of completing mainstream use cases for crypto." Meanwhile, "bad actors" kept filling the space - and the headlines."
Shield launched in 2022 and pivoted to payments in 2024, raising a $5 million seed round led by Giant Ventures. The platform enables exporters and importers to conduct cross-border transactions using US cryptocurrencies while providing compliance screenings for sanctions and money laundering. Founders Emmanuel Udotong, his brother Isaiah, and Luis Carchi built Shield to apply stablecoins to international payments and solve delays, high fees, and limited access to US dollars. Shield is registered as a Money Service Business in the US and as a crypto exchange in the EU, and has processed over $100 million in payments, including $40 million in the last month.
Read at TechCrunch
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