By “democratising” pre-public investing, DeFi protocol prePO hopes to level the playing field between retail and institutional investors.
The prePO platform will give regular investors the same opportunity to bet on pre-IPOs as institutions and hedge funds.
The funds will be used to advance the platform’s development ahead of its scheduled introduction in Q2 2022.
Protocol that is not centralised PrePO announced on Wednesday that it has raised a $2.1 million strategic fundraising round led by Republic Capital and IOSG Ventures, in preparation for the launch of its trading platform in Q2.
The money will be used to help prePO “democratise” pre-public investing, according to a press statement. The new cash supplements the protocol’s prior seed money of $1.1 million, which it received in July 2021.
The platform, which is still in beta, aims to give retail investors a chance to speculate on the value of pre-IPO companies or pre-token projects. Shortly after the network’s token launch in the coming months, the first iteration of the platform is expected to launch on Ethereum scaling solution Arbitrum.
In its web material, the protocol declares, “We currently live in a world of financial exclusion.” “Because there are a limited number of spaces on a cap table, all investors miss out on chances.”
MEXC, AscendEX, GCR, Shima Capital, Caballeros Capital, Dexterity Capital, HoneyDAO, NeptuneDAO, and others participated in the round, as did founders from Gnosis, 1inch, Moonbeam, Zapper, Gelato, and others.
PrePO creator Xavier Ekkel commented, “We’re really thrilled to have such an all-star collection of backers.” “Their industry knowledge, extensive networks, money, and long-term support will be critical in boosting prePO’s growth.”
Traders, liquidity providers, and “pregens” – those who vote on protocol modifications via DOA proposals — are the three primary participants in the protocol, each with their own set of responsibilities.
Retail investors would receive access to opportunities that venture capitalists, institutional investors, and private equity companies have “exclusively enjoyed for decades” by using prePO, according to the protocol’s announcement.
The protocol also stated that investors will be able to utilise the platform to hedge their exposure to pre-public assets in their portfolios, as well as for transparent and up-to-date market pricing.
Ray Xiao, principal of IOSG Ventures, said, “prePO’s revolutionary architecture assures that ample liquidity exists for speculation and that liquidity providers are risk-limited and meaningfully rewarded.”
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.