US State Regulators Grant Money Transmitter Licenses to Crypto Startup Bastion

Institutional-focused crypto custody firm Bastion has obtained money-transmitter licenses (MTLs) in New Hampshire and Arkansas.

1/ We’re happy to share that we received our first two Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) in New Hampshire and Arkansas and can now support fungible assets in both states. pic.twitter.com/ElFMc7vOPp

— Bastion (@BastionPlatform) October 31, 2023

Riyaz Faizullabhoy, co-founder of Bastion, told Crypto News exclusively that:

“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 founded by Nassim Eddequiouaq and Riyaz Faizullabhoy, former executives of a16z crypto.

In summary, with these licenses, the platform can support deposits, transfers, and payments of fungible crypto assets like Ethereum and MATIC.

In accordance with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS), the regulatory permit will enable the crypto startup to engage in trading operations related to the selling or issuance of payment instruments.

The crypto startup also disclosed that it has pending MTL applications in other states, as it aims to collaborate with regulators to provide solutions to enterprise businesses across the US.

Faizullabhoy explained further, saying:

“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 Continues to Record Upward Growth Trajectory

Eddequiouaq and Faizullabhoy launched Bastion on September 18, 2023.

1/ After months of building in stealth mode, we are ready to introduce ourselves and announce our $25M fundraise led by @a16zcrypto.

We are Bastion, and we are here to help brands and businesses build a digital world that people actually want to live in 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/mZPCxo1yRl

— Bastion (@BastionPlatform) September 18, 2023

Despite the recent drought in venture capital funding, the startup raised $25 million from venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).

Bastion’s vision was streamlined to address issues in Web3 infrastructure services through three major pillars. These include ownership and monetization of digital goods, smart transaction routing, and customer analytics.

7/ Here’s how we do things differently for companies and their customers:

🔓 Custodial Wallet API 🔓
🔁 Smart Transaction Routing 🔁
💡 User Analytics & Insights 💡

— Bastion (@BastionPlatform) September 18, 2023

The 3-pillar solutions will enable the firm to facilitate businesses to onboard their products and end-users into the immersive Web3 universe without complexities.

A major example is Bastion’s built-in custodial wallet, which works seamlessly with merchants’ authentication methods and requires zero learning curve due to its simplicity.

2/ Organizations of any size can now seamlessly integrate web3 infrastructure into existing technologies through a compliant, white-label platform and API that includes custodial wallets, smart transaction routing, and data analytics.

— Bastion (@BastionPlatform) September 18, 2023

To address difficulties driven by friction and scalability, the startup smart transaction routing system routes anywhere from 70% to 90%.

Through these mechanics, the crypto platform merges the simplicity of Web2 with the efficiencies of Web3.

This is done to enable businesses to create a faster way for their customers to pay, play, connect, and shop while simultaneously providing valuable insights through data analytics.

With its latest acquisition of MTLs in two US states, Bastion aims to scale and collaborate with major industry players without sacrificing its goal of immersive utilities to users.