OpenReserve raises $25M seed round led by a16z crypto to build blockchain-native national bank

A startup most people haven’t heard of just secured one of the more consequential seed rounds in crypto this year. OpenReserve, a fintech company building a blockchain-integrated national bank, closed a $25 million seed round led by a16z crypto, with Coinbase Ventures among 11 investors backing the effort. What makes this more than another well-funded fintech pitch: OpenReserve has already received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form a nationally chartered bank. What OpenReserve is actually building Founded in 2025 by Diwakar Choubey and Richard Correia, OpenReserve is headquartered at 260 5th Avenue in New York, with a proposed main office in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company has no plans for physical branches. Instead, it aims to operate around the clock as a fully digital, blockchain-native bank targeting digital-asset clients. OpenReserve plans to offer deposits, lending, payments, and tokenized asset products, all running on blockchain rails designed for continuous, onchain capital markets operations. Perhaps the most notable piece of the puzzle is ReserveUSD, or rUSD, a compliant stablecoin the company plans to issue thr...