# Alta, a blockchain settlement startup co-founded by Airwallex's Jack Zhang, raises a US$47.5M Series A

- Published: 2026-11-12 01:04 UTC
- Section: Industry & People › Start-ups
- Tags: Alta Series A, Airwallex Jack Zhang, blockchain payment settlement, stablecoin settlement for banks, Index Ventures, zero-knowledge proof payments, tokenised fund, corporate treasury, Capital 49
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-c40a5c442c8d3e1157a51678_alta_a_blockchain/

**The Melbourne and San Francisco company, formerly Metal, builds 24/7 blockchain payment settlement for banks. The round was led by Index Ventures.**

![Alta, a blockchain settlement startup co-founded by Airwallex's Jack Zhang, raises a US$47.5M Series A](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/8399e701e5fc4616.webp)
*Startup Daily*

Alta, previously known as Metal, is based in Melbourne and San Francisco and helps banks settle payments around the clock using blockchain. It launched in June and has now announced a US$47.5 million Series A round at an undisclosed valuation, Startup Daily reports [1].

The round was led by Index Ventures. Google's venture arm GV, the Australian funds Blackbird and Square Peg, and Capital 49, the investment firm set up by Airwallex's founders, also took part [1]. The money will go to hiring engineers and compliance specialists, blockchain development, and onboarding banks and payment providers to Alta's network [1].

## Founders and background

Airwallex chief Jack Zhang cofounded the company with serial entrepreneur Loong Wang and Catherine Porter, a former Meta crypto developer [1]. Wang's first blockchain startup, Ren, was bought by Alameda Research in 2021, and he later cofounded the computational chemistry startup QDX. Porter led global partnerships for Libra, Meta's unsuccessful digital currency project [1].

A mutual friend introduced Zhang and Wang last December, and they began discussing stablecoins, digital tokens typically pegged to a currency such as the US dollar. Zhang then introduced Wang to Index Ventures, whose partners had known him for about a decade [1]. In June 2025 Zhang had written on LinkedIn that after 15 years he had not seen a single use case where crypto meaningfully helped solve a real problem [1].

## Network and privacy

Airwallex, valued at US$11 billion in its $460 million Series H in June, plans to connect Alta to local payment networks across 200 countries and 90 currencies. Customers could then move between stablecoins and conventional money. Alta says other banks and payment providers, including Airwallex competitors, will be able to use the network [1].

The first product targets corporate treasury teams. A business can earn interest on spare cash in a tokenised fund, then redeem it and convert currencies when a payment falls due [1].

On a public blockchain, anyone who knows a customer's wallet address can look up their transactions. Alta uses zero-knowledge proofs: a bank can verify that a payment meets its rules without publishing the customer's identity, balance or transaction details on the chain [1]. Zhang said financial institutions need blockchain infrastructure that is private, neutral, regulated and connected to global fiat rails [1].

## Sources

1. [Startup Daily](https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/airwallex-crypto-sceptic-jack-zhangs-new-blockchain-side-hustle-just-raised-a-67-million-series-a)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-c40a5c442c8d3e1157a51678_alta_a_blockchain/