Institutional-focused crypto custody firm Bastion has recently acquired money-transmitter licenses (MTLs) in the states of New Hampshire and Arkansas. This significant achievement comes just one month after the company’s product launch. Riyaz Faizullabhoy, the co-founder of Bastion, expressed their pride in this announcement, stating:
“We are proud to announce the acquisition of Money Transmitter Licenses in New Hampshire and Arkansas just one month after our product launch. Securing these licenses furthers our mission to provide enterprises with a safe, secure, and compliant solution for a broad spectrum of digital assets.”
Bastion was established by Nassim Eddequiouaq and Riyaz Faizullabhoy, former executives of a16z crypto. With the obtained licenses, the platform now has the capability to support deposits, transfers, and payments of fungible crypto assets such as Ethereum and MATIC.
By adhering to the guidelines of the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), Bastion’s regulatory permit allows the crypto startup to engage in trading operations related to the selling or issuance of payment instruments. The company also revealed that it has pending MTL applications in other states, as it aims to collaborate with regulators to provide cutting-edge solutions to enterprise businesses across the United States.
Explaining further, Faizullabhoy emphasized the importance of compliance to Bastion’s vision:
“Compliance is a critical part of our vision, and we are committed to working closely with regulators and customers so enterprises can engage with web3 and take advantage of these new use cases.”
Bastion was officially launched by Eddequiouaq and Faizullabhoy on September 18, 2023. Despite the challenges faced by many startups in securing venture capital funding, Bastion successfully raised $25 million from venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The company’s vision revolves around addressing issues in Web3 infrastructure services through three key pillars:
- Ownership and monetization of digital goods
- Smart transaction routing
- Customer analytics
These three pillars form the foundation of Bastion’s solutions, enabling the firm to simplify the onboarding process for businesses and end-users in the immersive Web3 universe. One notable feature is Bastion’s built-in custodial wallet, which seamlessly integrates with merchants’ authentication methods and requires minimal learning curve due to its user-friendly interface.
To overcome challenges related to friction and scalability, Bastion employs a smart transaction routing system that efficiently processes 70% to 90% of transactions. This approach combines the simplicity of Web2 with the efficiencies of Web3, allowing businesses to provide faster and smoother payment, gaming, connection, and shopping experiences to their customers, while also gaining valuable insights through data analytics.
With the recent acquisition of MTLs in New Hampshire and Arkansas, Bastion is positioned to scale its operations and collaborate with major industry players, all while remaining dedicated to delivering immersive utilities and experiences to its users.
