Republic, a retail investment platform affiliated with AngelList, has raised $12 million in a latest funding round led by Binance Labs and NGC ECO Fund.

Other investors participating in the round include East Chain Co, Oyster Ventures, FBG Capital, Hazoor Capital, ZK Capital, ZhenFund, and others. 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.

Republic plans to use to funds to finance the tokenization of its platform and the development of its own security token. The objective is 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. The startup is also working on tokenizing all financial products offered on its 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," says Kendrick Nguyen, CEO of Republic. "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."

Launched in 2016, Republic is an investment platform providing retail investors around the world with compliant access to curated startups and blockchain projects. It 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.