Fiat Republic, a specialist Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform founded by experts in banking and fintech, announced a significant milestone in its mission to integrate the worlds of cryptocurrency and traditional banking. Having raised €6.4 million in a seed extension round, Fiat Republic will improve the accessibility of banking and payment services for cryptocurrency platforms.
Participants in the round include first-time investments from Kraken Ventures, Fabric Ventures, Arca, Inovo.vc, and Pretiosum Ventures as well as existing investors Speedinvest, Credo Ventures and Seedcamp. This significant capital injection is set to fuel sustained growth and expansion, with the funds earmarked for key initiatives including strategic hires, strengthening banking partnerships, as well as expanding to new territories.
Adam Bialy, CEO and co-founder of Fiat Republic, said “This investment shows the confidence our investors have in Fiat Republic’s vision and the future trajectory of the company as a market leader in the web 2.5 space. With our newly acquired Dutch EMI licence, Fiat Republic will now operate across the entire European Union directly, providing e-money and payment services. Passporting from the reputable and credible jurisdiction of the Netherlands not only boosts our legitimacy in the traditional finance world, but also highlights our commitment to high compliance standards, security, and close collaboration with regulators. This move, to me, also signals that the Netherlands is open for business ahead of the upcoming MiCA regulation.”
Fiat Republic’s platform simplifies the difficult process of crypto platforms connecting with global and local bank transfer networks. By offering a single API integration coupled with a single compliance touchpoint, it embodies a unique blend of tradFi security and fiat payment automation delivered via embedded banking. Beyond tech and compliance solutions, Fiat Republic is dedicated to reshaping the dialogue between crypto platforms, traditional banks and regulators by forming a coalition of crypto platforms to transform the perception of cryptocurrencies in traditional financial circles and focusing them on seeking partnership rather than conflict.
Founded in 2021, the company also announced it has been granted a full electronic money institution (EMI) licence by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), enabling it to provide regulated financial services across the European Economic Area. This comes in addition to their established EMI licence in the UK where they have been operational for over a year. This Dutch licence enables the Fiat Republic platform to provide payment services and issue e-money to EEA crypto platforms, via its purpose-built, developer-friendly API.
Michal Benedykcinski, SVP at Arca, commented: “Arca is enthusiastic to back Fiat Republic on its mission to bridge the gap between traditional banking and the rapidly growing financial needs of web3 projects. Our investment in Fiat Republic represents a deep belief in making compliant industry standards for individual transactions easy to follow by all market participants, whether you are a crypto platform, bank, or regulator.”
Anil Hansjee, General Partner at Fabric Ventures, added: “We are delighted to be part of Fiat Republic’s journey in revolutionizing the Banking-as-a-Service landscape. Their innovative and regulation-first approach in bridging the worlds of traditional banking and web3 is not only timely but crucial for the evolution of financial services. This investment is a testament to our belief in Fiat Republic’s vision and the potential of their platform to redefine the banking experience for crypto platforms across Europe.”
