His first startup was acquired by Sam Bankman-Fried. His new venture is Airwallex's next big bet - Forbes Australia
Australian fintech unicorn Airwallex has led a $45 million seed funding round for blockchain startup Metal, which aims to build institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure.
The Melbourne-San Francisco startup Metal has raised over $45 million in seed funding, with Australian fintech unicorn Airwallex leading the round. Metal, co-founded by Loong Wang and former Meta VP Catherine Porter, aims to solve critical infrastructure issues that prevent businesses and institutions from adopting blockchain technology.
Blockchain for Banking
Metal is positioning itself as a "blockchain for banking," starting with infrastructure for stablecoins before expanding to asset tokenization, on-chain compliance, and privacy solutions. The startup addresses fundamental problems like transaction privacy and unwanted transfers that have hindered institutional adoption.
There's so much inefficiency in the global financial system, and we're big believers that blockchain is the technology to remove those inefficiencies.
Founder's Crypto Background
Wang brings significant crypto experience to Metal, having previously founded Republic Protocol (later Ren Protocol) in 2017. The decentralized finance project was acquired by Sam Bankman-Fried's Alameda Research in 2021 before Wang departed following the collapse of FTX.
Between his crypto ventures, Wang led Singapore-based QDX, which develops quantum computing software for drug discovery. Despite his foray into quantum tech, Wang remained drawn to blockchain solutions.
You can take the boy out of the blockchain, but you can't take the blockchain out of the boy.
Airwallex's Strategic Shift
Airwallex's investment represents a significant shift for CEO Jack Zhang, who has historically expressed skepticism about cryptocurrency.
The company's crypto pivot includes hiring Coinbase VP Dan Kim to lead its agentic banking operation and exploring stablecoin integration. Metal's solutions align with Airwallex's strategy to compete with Stripe in the fintech space.
Metal was incubated by Zhang himself, who identified the need for institutional blockchain infrastructure but required someone with Wang's expertise to lead the venture. The startup's staff of approximately 20 is split between San Francisco and Melbourne, with R&D primarily based in Australia.
Related
