GSR partners with SC Ventures-backed tokenization firm supporting its web3 ‘investment bank’ strategy

GSR is making a lead investment in Libeara, an SC Ventures-backed tokenization platform, as the prominent market maker doubles down on its tokenization thesis. 

The move comes on the heels of GSR’s dual acquisition of Autonomous and Architech to flesh out its token advisory business. With those acquisitions, GSR has positioned itself as one of the few firms that can offer full token lifecycle management, from strategic pre-launch planning to liquidity management after the fact. 

“What we didn’t have was the actual tokenization capability — the ‘press the button’ and tokenize platform,” GSR Chief Legal and Strategy Officer Joshua Riezman told The Block in an interview. “Instead of buying, we’re partnering with this SC Ventures incubated company that’s shown a lot of success.”

Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures investment arm launched Libeara in 2023 to provide regulated tokenization infrastructure. The startup has supported the origination of more than $1 billion in onchain assets, including the first tokenized retail money market fund in Asia for massive asset manager ChinaAMC.

Libeara was also a finalist for MAS’s Global Retail CBDC Challenge and has since received a Capital Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

GSR declined to disclose the terms of the deal, though a source familiar with the investment suggested the partnership is set to grow over time. “Things are upside down when GSR is the lead investor in a Standard Chartered-incubated project,” Riezman said. “Normally, things are the other way, where banks invest. You can see they’re interacting with this stuff in an interesting way.”

Indeed, Libeara is a key component of Standard Chartered’s plan to build out crypto prime brokerage services. At the same time, it is also supporting GSR’s ambition to grow into an RWA investment bank, a representative said. 

Libeara gives “a sense of where we’re all moving,” a source familiar with the investment said. “Wall Street-crypto convergence.”

Full-service digital asset investment bank

By partnering with Libeara, GSR is positioning itself as a full-service, end-to-end, global digital asset and RWA capital markets partner — or “an investment bank for web3,” as GSR’s Frank Chaparro put it — with the capability of “effectively tokenizing anything in a compliant way, outside of the U.S.,” Riezman added. 

“What crypto has shown is these rails have amazing capability for fundraising,” Riezman said. “People are going to start using this route so long as it’s compliant — and we’re only going to engage in compliant ways — as an additional way to raise money. So you don’t have to go through traditional investment banks.” 

Without going into specifics, Riezman noted GSR has been approached within the past two months for tokenization efforts tied to movie studios, farmland, real estate, and other receivables and funds. (Worth noting: a GSR rep later clarified that farmland is particularly tricky for tokenization.)

To some extent, GSR is building more for the future than today. Riezman noted there is still limited demand from investors in RWA opportunities, even if there are plenty of projects willing to raise funds onchain. 

“What’s obviously still missing is the demand, but the demand was never going to be there until we created the capabilities in the bridges,” Riezman said. He noted that with stablecoins projected to grow, there will likely be corresponding growth in the RWA space, if only because onchain capital will need places to invest. 

Part of Libeara’s value proposition is that it is a “reg-driven channel for compliant onchain tokenization.” While there are legal routes to do this in the U.S., Riezman argued that much of that offshore activity is essentially just wrapping derivative assets in a Special Purpose Vehicle, which may have limited demand. 

Libeara will help support GSR’s tokenization efforts outside the United States, though Riezman said the firm will still be able to partner and invest with firms operating within the U.S. 

Making markets

GSR is not the only company making this bet. Anchorage Digital, the crypto custodian that is gearing up for a public listing, has invested in its token lifecycle management and wealth management operations, while crypto conglomerate Galaxy is also set up to provide a similar range of tokenization services. 

Riezman said he wouldn’t be surprised to see even more vertical integration in the nascent sector, while describing GSR’s operations as a kind of “consolidated offer,” due to its market making and global trading infrastructure, which supports distribution and secondary markets for tokenized assets.

“Liquidity for different RWAs can be challenging — they’re not all the same. It’s very different to provide liquidity for a publicly listed equity that gets tokenized rather than like a one-off private security,” Riezman said. “We’re at the forefront of thinking about that. Issuers will be looking for that kind of partner, and thinking about who can provide secondary market liquidity.”

While market making for RWAs may be a new endeavor, GSR has experience bringing over 500 token projects to market, including for clients like Ripple, Ethena Labs, and Sei. The firm has also deepened its white-glove advisory and go-to-market offerings with its 100% acquisitions of Autonomous and Architech. This includes offering foundation services, launch operations, and treasury infrastructure.

Riezman noted that GSR has always quietly provided a range of financial services. GSR is about 260 people today, “That’s not a market maker size, that’s a financial services firm size,” he said.

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