- Rate’s blockchain project Rate3 commands the attention of a number of investors
- Rate3 is a blockchain-based payment platform to help companies tokenise their assets and manage a unified identity across different blockchains
- Platform is built on top of popular blockchain protocols
Singaporean fintech company Rate has recently raised $15m for its cross-border payment platform, according to its executives.
The startup raised the US dollar amount in a token sale for Rate3, the company’s blockchain project. Rate’s initial coin offering (ICO) hit its 25,000 ether target and the fintech firm saw participation from both public and private investors, including Fenbushi Capital’s founder Bo Shen, FBG Capital, Matrix Partners China and Node Capital.
Based on reports from Deal Street Asia, the funds will be used to further develop the platform.
Rate also owns the RateX brand, a web app that helps online shoppers save money through its low currency exchange rates. When the company was established in 2016, it focused on e-commerce related transfers with the aim to make e-commerce across borders more accessible to shoppers and sellers. According to Rate, their web app helps sustain the e-commerce ecosystem.
RateX reportedly netted $2.3m in early 2018 and the funding round was led by Insignia Ventures Partners and Alpha JWC Ventures.
Built on two well-known blockchain protocols – Ethereum and Stellar – Rate3 aims to help companies translate their physical assets into tokens. According to Tech in Asia, Rate3 is a blockchain network armed with Stellar’s mean speed of five seconds. Ethereum, on the other hand, makes it possible for Rate3 to create smart contracts that also function as repositories of customer information.
Rate CEO Jake Goh said: “We believe that blockchains have not reached mainstream adoption because the current infrastructure is not ready yet. First, there are no common legal frameworks to tie ownership and control of real world assets to digital tokens. Second, there are still many differing smart contract standards and lastly, the current identity ecosystem on blockchain is still fragmented. Without common standards, government regulators will also find it hard to regulate and audit blockchain companies.”
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