GSR Leads $13.6mn Round for SC Ventures' Tokenization Platform Libeara

Initial details about the funding were announced in April, and the update from SC Ventures' Libeara, shared with Sandmark, said the round included participation from South Korea's Kyobo Life Insurance Group, as well as Openspace Capital, Kaia Investment Partners and Simsan Ventures.

GSR anchors strategic round

The prior announcement disclosed funders AlloyX, a DeFi lending protocol, and Monk's Hill Ventures, a VC firm based in Singapore, and did not confirm the total amount raised. The funds will be used to expand Libeara's regulation-compliant onchain tokenization infrastructure, which secured a Capital Markets Services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in March.

"This round assembles exactly the right combination of traditional financial markets, technology, and ecosystem reach to build institutional-grade tokenized markets at scale," said Aaron Gwak, Founder and CEO of Libeara.

Kyobo's tokenization bet

Kyobo Life, one of South Korea's largest life insurers with $100bn in assets under management, has been increasing its exposure to tokenization of traditional assets at affiliate businesses within its home market.

"We are exploring the potential for greater convergence between traditional finance and on-chain infrastructure, particularly in markets where such innovation can create meaningful value," said Chris Shin, Director and Head of Global Strategic Partnerships at Kyobo Life Insurance.

Founded in Singapore in 2023, Libeara has supported the tokenization of more than $1bn in regulated assets, including the Wellington Management-run Ultra Short-Dated US Treasury fund, which carries an S&P AA+/S1+ rating, and Hong Kong's first retail tokenized money market fund, co-developed with ChinaAMC HK.