Blockchain banking and payments startup Sila Inc. today announced that it has raised $7.7 million in new funding that will be used to introduce new product features that provide software developers with easier access to the global financial system.

The seed round was lead by Madrona Venture Group and the Oregon Venture Fund and included Mucker Capital, 99 Tartans, Taavet Kinrikus and Jerry Neumann. As part of the deal, Hope Cochran, managing director at Madrona Venture Group and Rick Holt, lead investor at the Oregon Venture Fund, are joining the Sila board of directors

Founded in 2018, Sila is developing an application programming interface platform that follows the ERC-20 token protocol and is built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. The API itself is designed to allow entrepreneurs to access banking tools including support for their own U.S. dollar-pegged “stablecoins.”

Launched as an infrastructure-as-a-service platform in April 2019, Sila’s service is design to help companies leverage financial networks while also abiding by banking rules and regulations. Support includes Know Your Customer verification, bank account linking and digital wallets.

Like all blockchain startups, Sila has its own token. SILA is pegged 100:1 to the U.S. dollar with fully insured funds held by a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation member bank.

Current customers include startups to established businesses in industries such as finance, insurance, real estate and blockchain.

“The global financial system is broken…. It doesn’t serve consumers, small businesses, or the innovators trying to reach them,” Shamir Karkal, Sila’s co-founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement.  “It is too expensive, inefficient, tightly regulated and difficult to integrate into FinTech applications. This kills fintech innovation at a time when we need it more than ever. Our mission is to unite all the payment systems in one programmable layer to spur the next phase of financial innovation.”

Image: Sila