A16z crypto co-led the $30 million spherical, with the agency’s Chris Dixon and Elizabeth Harkavy writing that Catena is constructing “a brand new class of regulated monetary infrastructure purpose-built for autonomous software program.”
Catena builds the governance layer for AI agent transactions — instruments that permit people set spending limits, outline permitted recipients, cap account holdings, and set up audit trails earlier than handing monetary execution off to brokers. The corporate’s $18 million seed, closed in 2025, was additionally led by a16z crypto.
The corporate has been accepted for submitting a Nationwide Belief Financial institution constitution with the OCC. If permitted, it might make Catena a regulated fiduciary for AI brokers — giving companies and people a compliant framework for autonomous monetary operations.
A16z wrote that brokers want “financial institution accounts and fee rails they’ll entry programmatically, together with clear guidelines and controls that maintain people in cost.”
The wager lands because the agentic funds infrastructure race accelerates throughout the trade.
Coinbase launched the primary pockets purpose-built for autonomous AI brokers in February, The Block reported. In April, OKX debuted an agent funds protocol overlaying the total bot enterprise cycle, together with provides, quotes, disputes, and settlements. Deloitte has additionally forecast that AI and stablecoins will reshape monetary companies by 2030.
