Republic, a retail investment platform affiliated with AngelList, announced it has closed a $12 million round to finance the tokenization of the Republic platform and the development of its own security token. The round was led by Binance Labs and NGC ECO Fund, with participation from East Chain Co, Oyster Ventures, FBG Capital, Hazoor Capital, ZK Capital, ZhenFund, and others.
Republic began curating and offering token sales in late 2017 under the brand Republic Crypto, providing compliant and fair access to both non-accredited and accredited investors. Since then, dozens of startups and crypto projects have raised on Republic from tens of thousands of investors worldwide.
Republic’s tokenization project aims to incentivize and engage all participants on the Republic platform with the introduction of a Republic token, which will carry functional uses as well as economic rights. It is also working on tokenizing all financial products offered on the Republic platform to enhance their liquidity and transferability.
“Underlying our goal of becoming the marketplace for private investing is our mission to promote broad, diverse participation in all forms of entrepreneurship. The global crypto fever has moved the needle forward almost overnight, but it has also introduced new regulatory and business complexities. We believe cross-border collaboration is necessary to navigate these complexities and help the industry grow quickly, but responsibly. Republic is delighted to have influential partners and investors from different regions of the world join forces on this shared vision.”
“Republic brings new investment opportunities for retail investors to participate in well-curated startups. Binance and Labs team are working towards the freedom of value-exchange, and Republic’s democratization of access to startup investing aligns with our values.”
“Republic has demonstrated their capability of choosing credible projects and keeping the process transparent and compliant with rules and regulations. NGC believes transparency and compliance are critical factors for mainstream adoptions of crypto assets and blockchain technologies. Hence, we’re excited to support Republic’s tokenization effort and, as an early investor, we look forward to working with Republic and its partners in setting a new standard for open and compliant token offerings.”
Last year, Republic raised seed capital from a cohort of venture firms across the US, including Oyster Ventures, AngelList, RenGen, NextGen Venture Partners, and Grand Central Tech, all of whom have expressed confidence in Republic’s crypto ambition.
“I am thrilled to see the platform evolve to fully utilize crypto to democratize and align incentives in the growing ICO economy. Republic is well positioned to revolutionize the whole token-pre-sale landscape.”