Republic, the blockchain platform connecting retail investors with opportunities in startups, has closed a USD 12 million funding round to tokenize its offering and develop its own security token.
According to a press release Thursday, Binance Labs and NGC ECO Fund led the funding round for the AngelList affiliated group, with participation also coming from East Chain Co, Oyster Ventures, FBG Capital, Hazoor Capital, ZK Capital and ZhenFund.
“Underlying our goal of becoming the marketplace for private investing is our mission to promote broad, diverse participation in all forms of entrepreneurship,” said Kendrick Nguyen, CEO of Republic in the statement.
“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,” he added.
“Republic brings new investment opportunities for retail investors to participate in well-curated startups,” said Ella Zhang, head of Binance Labs in the statement. “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,” said Tony Gu of Neo Global Capital. “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 number venture firms across the US, including Oyster Ventures, AngelList, RenGen, NextGen Venture Partners, and Grand Central Tech. “I am thrilled to see the platform evolve to fully utilize crypto to democratize and align incentives in the growing ICO economy,” said Sophie Liao of Oyster Ventures. “Republic is well positioned to revolutionize the whole token-pre-sale landscape.”
