Private investment platform Republic’s ~$1 billion venture arm is reportedly in talks to raise $700 million for two new crypto-focused funds, according to Axios. The funds include a $200 million flagship venture fund and a $500 million dedicated crypto fund, Axios wrote in its Pro fintech newsletter.
The venture fund will have 20% of its capital set aside for investments in cryptocurrency tokens, while the other 80% will go to equity investments in web3, fintech and deep tech, Axios reported. The dedicated crypto fund, it added, will focus on backing later-stage protocols.
Republic Capital has invested in over 100 companies since its inception in January 2019, the company says. It’s been fairly active in the crypto space specifically — it led an investment in blockchain company Flipside, a data analytics tool for protocols that rewards users for completing queries, last month and participated in Indian web3 startup CoinDCX’s recent $135 million fundraise.
As a company, Republic has been helping crypto projects fundraise in compliance with regulated securities offerings since 2017, according to its website. Last October, Republic’s CEO Kendrick Nguyen told TechCrunch of the company’s potential plans to build a compliance-focused secondary marketplace for digital securities.
Projects that have raised capital from investors through its crowdfunding platform include DeFi protocol Ratio Finance and Solana-based treasury management solution Zebec. In February, Republic spun out its metaverse and NFT-focused investment division, Republic Realm, as a standalone company called Everyrealm run by Janine Yorio.
Republic raised its own $150 million Series B funding round in October 2021 led by Valor Equity Partners. The company told TechCrunch it had also raised over $20 million in a crypto token sale ahead of that round.
Republic did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.