Just a year after calling crypto more akin to a religion than a technology with little real-world utility, Airwallex CEO Jack Zhang has taken the opposite path. Zhang is now listed as a co-founder of Alta, a Layer 1 blockchain startup that recently secured a $47.5 million Series A funding round. His involvement marks a dramatic reversal following years of open skepticism toward crypto and stablecoins, including remarks made in June 2025.
The investment round led by Index Ventures brings Alta’s total accumulated capital to $80 million. The fresh capital follows a $32.5 million seed round led directly by Airwallex. A lineup of global venture capital firms joined the round, including GV (Google Ventures), Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg, and Capital49, which was established by Airwallex’s founders.
Why the Airwallex Boss Reversed Course
Zhang is not building Alta alone. He co-founded the project alongside CEO Loong Wang and former Meta executive Catherine Porter, who previously led the tech giant’s crypto division.
Zhang’s shift in perspective stemmed from his own company’s operational demands. Airwallex needed a bridge for international payments amid rising corporate client demand for instant transaction settlements via stablecoins. Driven by this need, Airwallex positioned itself as both an investor and an early design partner planning to connect its global payments infrastructure across 200 countries and 90 currencies to the Alta blockchain.
Filtering Unsolicited Transfers to Bank Accounts
Alta, previously known as Metal, is developing an independent Layer 1 blockchain with a recursive zero-knowledge cryptographic architecture. This approach is designed to maintain the confidentiality of institutional transaction data while meeting regulatory compliance auditing requirements for banking.
Alta’s system also features screening capabilities that allow institutions to reject unsolicited incoming transfers from external wallets. This mechanism is designed to address public address vulnerabilities on conventional blockchains, where open wallets face the risk of receiving random asset transfers that could violate regulatory rules.
Targeting $4 Trillion in Trapped Capital
Alta’s first commercial product focuses on reducing the need for prefunded accounts in cross-border correspondent banking. The traditional correspondent banking system currently requires banks to lock up around $4 trillion in liquidity across holding accounts worldwide so cross-border transactions can be processed.
For financial institutions and multinational corporations, freeing up capital from such holding accounts offers tangible cash efficiency without sacrificing banking audit standards.
Reported via crypto.news.
Read also: What Is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
