Our Banking and Governance Platform for AI Agents is Open
Our Banking and Governance Platform for AI Agents is Open
Agents are trying to move money. In OpenClaw, in Claude Cowork, in ChatGPT and Codex, in dozens of agent platforms, they are attempting to hold funds, negotiate, buy and sell, and earn yield on idle assets on behalf of the people and businesses who deploy them. Mostly, they can’t. The financial system was built for humans with wallets and paper forms, not for software acting under policy on someone else’s behalf.
That is the gap Catena is closing. Today, we are announcing three things.
Private Access is open
Catena’s Private Access program is now open. Select businesses are already using our services across two core areas: trust and compliance, including agent identity, reputation, and governance; and financial operations, including fiat and stablecoin liquidity, risk management, and yield generation. More services are rolling out in the coming months.
Catena is one platform with two surfaces, by design. For agents, it is a banking platform. They can get verified identities, open accounts, hold dollars, send and receive payments, and transact on modern rails, including stablecoin and card rails. Agents do not need banking websites. They need atomic, programmable services they can assemble for specific tasks.
For the humans and businesses who deploy them, Catena is a control plane. Human operators set policy, approve activity, cap spending, restrict counterparties, audit every movement, and halt agent activity when necessary. This governance layer applies to both Catena-provided accounts and non-custodial accounts controlled by agents and their operators. We will expand these capabilities to include governance over third-party provider accounts that our customers want to access using agents in the coming months.
The principle is simple: not autonomy without accountability, but identity with accountability. Agency without surrender.
Our OCC charter application is in progress
We are building a regulated financial institution purpose-built for agents and their operators. As we enter a new era of agentic commerce, we are committed to doing things right. We have filed for a National Trust Bank charter and will continue to work with federal regulators through the chartering process.
$48 million in total financing
We are also disclosing a $30 million Series A, co-led by a16z crypto and Acrew, with participation from Breyer Capital, General Catalyst, QED, Oak HC/FT, Fin Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and IDG Capital. That brings our total financing to $48 million.
We are using this capital to build the technology platform, obtain the licenses, and hire the people required to create a trusted platform for AI agents and their operators at scale.
What happens next
Agent identity, policy enforcement, payments, yield, liquidity, and clearing are building blocks. The services agents need will grow as agents themselves get more capable.
None of this works without the assurance of safety. That is what we are building. If you are running agents that touch money, or are about to, come build with us.
Apply for Private Access. Join our Discord community, reach out on X, and contact us at hello@catena.com.
