A retail investment platform called Republic recently completed $12 million in financing to tokenize its platform and introduce its own security token, led by Binance Labs and NGC ECO Fund. The financing round was also supported by ZK Capital, Oyster Ventures, FBG Capital, Hazoor Capital, East Chain, Zhen Fund and others.

Republic — which last year secured seed funding from AngelList, NextGen Venture Partners, Oyster Ventures, RenGen and Grand Central Tech — points to its core tenets of partnership, compliance, and fair access as relevant to the increasingly global crypto investing ecosystem.

‘Crypto Fever’ Jumpstarts Entrepreneurship

Kendrick Nguyen, CEO of Republic, said the company’s goal is to become the main marketplace for private investing, and its mission is to enhance diverse participation in all types of entrepreneurship. He said the global “crypto fever” has jumpstarted the company’s mission, and that global collaboration is needed to address existing complexities and allow the crypto industry to expand fast and responsibly.

Republic started to offer token sales late last year to accredited and non-accredited investors. Dozens of crypto projects have been supported by tens of thousands of investors globally.

Supporters Laud Initiative

Ella Zhang, head of Binance Labs, said Republic provides new opportunities to participate in startups. Republic’s “democratization of access” to investing in startups matches Binance Labs’ values.

NEO Global Capital’s Tony Gu said Republic has established a track record for selecting credible projects and maintaining a transparent process with its regulations. Transparency and compliance are important to the mainstream adoption of blockchain technologies and crypto assets, he said.

Oyster Ventures’ Sophie Liao lauded Republic’s ambition in utilizing crypto to grow the ICO economy.

Also read: Cryptocurrency exchange Binance inks $15 million investment pact with Bermuda

Binance Takes Initiative

Binance had made a number of investments in blockchain startups through its recently-launched venture fund, including:

• Binance recently launched its first fiat crypto exchange – Binance Uganda to support the Ugandan fiat currency.
• The exchange announced its support for the new Malta Stock Exchange, another joint fiat and crypto project.
• It launched a $1 billion venture capital fund to support blockchain projects.
• It signed a memorandum of understanding with Bermuda to provide up to $10 million for university blockchain development and compliance training and up to $5 million in blockchain companies.

They can now add Republic to that list, and — given the financial relationship between the two firms — it would not be surprising if Binance is one of the first exchanges to list the company’s security token.