Gate Alpha 2nd Points Carnival Round 4 Hot Launch! Trade to Share $30,000 MORE & Alpha Points
Trade $MORE to unlock Listing Airdrops + $300K Points Prize Pool!
💰 Total Airdrop Volume: $30,000 MORE, Limited slots—first come, first served!
✅ Total Points: 2 Alpha Points per trade—accumulate points to share the $300K prize pool!
🔥Trade the Hottest On-Chain Assets First
For more information: https://www.gate.com/campaigns/1342alpha?pid=X&c=MemeBox&ch=vxDB0fQ5
When Robinhood Meets Web3: The Trillion-Dollar RWA Battle Between Traditional Brokers and Native Encryption Platforms Behind Zero-Commission Stock Tokens
Original Author: | Ethan
Reprint: Daisy, Mars Finance
Currently, the RWA track is accelerating its evolution with great momentum, and the level of industry compliance has also seen significant improvement. Notably, last night Robinhood officially announced that it will launch US stock and ETF trading services based on its own Layer 2 blockchain for EU users. These assets, referred to as "Robinhood Stock Tokens," will enjoy zero commissions, and holders will also be able to receive dividends through the broker's application.
The active exploration of the European and American markets by Robinhood has brought more positive signals to the RWA industry, while Jarsy, which also focuses on global expansion, is making significant strides in the innovative direction of Pre-IPO tokenization. What unique differentiated advantages does its unique Pre-IPO tokenization layout contain? What unknown entrepreneurial narratives are hidden behind it? The breakthrough path of this emerging track is provoking deep reflection in the market on the digital transformation of real assets.
In the traditional financial system, Pre-IPO investment was once an exclusive domain for high-net-worth individuals, with a funding threshold often reaching tens of thousands of dollars, effectively excluding ordinary investors. Against this backdrop, Jarsy was born with the mission of "making investment accessible to the masses, allowing participation in Pre-IPO investments with as little as $10 and offering high-growth value company investment opportunities." By tokenizing shares of high-growth private companies like xAI, Anthropic, and Stripe, Jarsy enables both ordinary investors with little knowledge of cryptocurrencies and seasoned players in the crypto space to participate and enjoy the potential returns of equity investments.
Recently, Odaily Planet Daily contacted Jarsy CEO Han Qin for an in-depth conversation to analyze the competitive advantages, operational mechanisms, risk management, business model, and entrepreneurial philosophy of the Jarsy project. Below is the record of the interview, with some content omitted.
Odaily: I heard you just completed your seed round, congratulations! Could you briefly introduce your financing background and project advantages?
Han Qin: Thank you for your attention. Yes, this seed round financing is $5 million, led by Breyer Capital, and we also received the favor of excellent angel investors including Karman Venture, Nathan McCauley (CEO of Anchorage), and Evan Cheng (CEO of Mysten Labs). We chose Breyer because we value their early investments in very outstanding companies, such as their lead investment in the Series A rounds of Facebook and Circle; our team is all from Uber, so we chose Karman because it is a boutique VC funded by Uber founder Travis Kalanick and executives from Palantir, OpenAI, Anduril, ScaleAI, Anthropic, and others.
At the same time, we adhere to a customer-centric approach. In order to provide users with a more simplified interaction method and reduce the learning cost for non-expert users, our team has redefined and addressed the complex issues in blockchain technology, ensuring a seamless connection from login to order placement. Additionally, Jarsy will charge local cryptocurrency users in stablecoin USDC and cash USD for users unrelated to cryptocurrency, achieving seamless cross-industry capital flow.
In addition, Jarsy asset-backed tokens are guaranteed by a 1:1 real company equity, which is held by a limited liability company registered in Delaware, USA, managed by the platform. At the same time, equity proof documents are regularly disclosed to minimize the platform's credit risk.
Odaily: What are the selection criteria and listing process for Jarsy regarding unlisted or listed companies, to ensure the quality and potential of the companies being selected and listed?
Han Qin: This is a very good question and a topic that users are very concerned about. Our screening logic is divided into three levels: first, in terms of industry and growth potential, we will focus more on high-growth sectors such as AI, aerospace, and fintech, like SpaceX, xAI, Anthropic, etc.; second, in terms of valuation health, we will prioritize late-stage unicorns, such as Stripe, which has maintained over 25% revenue growth for 8 consecutive years; third, we will conduct our own due diligence loop. The Jarsy team, relying on Silicon Valley resources, can easily interview company executives and early investors to verify the stability of the equity structure, ensuring the reliability and growth potential of the investment targets.
In addition, regarding the project listing, Jarsy will clearly define the economic benefit tokens, which are supported by underlying assets (such as company shares), and issue economic rights agreements for equity ownership to ensure that the entire process complies with US laws and regulations, protecting the rights and interests of investors.
Odialy: What is the asset value anchoring mechanism and how does it ensure investment value?
Han Qin: Jarsy works closely with private equity firms, venture capital funds, and brokers to acquire shares in selected private companies. Once the shares are acquired, Jarsy will hold these shares through our independently registered limited liability company in Delaware (LLC), and then issue asset-backed tokens that correspond exactly to the number of shares held.
For the value anchoring of platform asset-backed tokens, we base it on the company's latest tender offer for each round of funding, and on this basis, there may be slight premiums or discounts due to supply and demand dynamics in the secondary market. This mechanism ensures that the token value is closely linked to the company's latest valuation dynamics, while investors can also receive real-time returns from market valuation changes. Of course, if the company performs particularly poorly in the private secondary market after completing a round of financing, our corresponding buyback price will also be adjusted downward.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning that we have also issued the presale tokens for Jarsy, which allow holders to have priority in purchasing asset-backed tokens from specific companies on the platform. Each presale token is backed by 1 dollar, similar to our own stablecoin. Once Jarsy acquires the corresponding company shares and issues the asset-backed tokens, these tokens will be allocated to the presale token holders on a first-come, first-served basis.
During the allocation process, the presale tokens are exchanged for asset-backed tokens at the current price of the asset-backed tokens plus conversion costs. Once all presale tokens have been allocated, the remaining asset-backed tokens will be made available to other investors.
It is worth mentioning that when users are optimistic about a certain presale investment target, after purchasing the presale tokens of a specific company, if the platform fails to complete the settlement within a specified time, that is, if it does not timely procure the Pre-IPO stocks of that company, the Jarsy platform will refund the full amount to the users. Therefore, users will not incur any losses in the event of a transaction failure.
Odaily: How is Jarsy's business model set?
Han Qin: We do not charge management fees. Jarsy's main profit model relies on one-time transaction fees, which is also our competitive advantage compared to similar products. All fees incurred during the investment period are publicly transparent, but similar to traditional investments, there may be rare Carry fees. However, this fee is not part of Jarsy's profit; rather, it represents the holding cost for popular companies by some large funds. For example, for the popular investment project xAI on the platform, investors only incur transaction fees for a one-time trade, with no other hidden fees, allowing users to retain maximum investment returns.
Odaily: Are there any restrictions for users participating in Jarsy investment?
Han Qin: Combining our global market positioning, Jarsy's global accessibility currently covers users in regions such as the United States, China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and North America, and will expand to more areas in the future. Jarsy is committed to serving market users who meet regulatory requirements, requiring investors to qualify as accredited investors, and regional users must go through the corresponding KYC certification to ensure compliance with local regulatory requirements. Additionally, due to our considerations regarding KYC control, the platform does not currently open DeFi trading or external secondary markets to ensure compliance and investment safety.
Odaily: As an equity tokenization project, what regulatory risks will Jarsy face? How will the platform respond?
Han Qin: This issue is crucial for most companies in the cryptocurrency industry. The development of the cryptocurrency industry, including Robinhood's recent series of announcements, is driving the U.S. to provide clear policy proposals (such as stablecoin legislation). Therefore, this is both a challenge and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tokenize private investing. As a company registered in the U.S., Jarsy faces regulatory challenges such as U.S. SEC and EU MiCA regulations. However, since our team is rooted in Silicon Valley and has participated in the growth of Silicon Valley giants like Uber, we are very familiar with and skilled at complying with regulations before they become clear. We will actively embrace and cooperate with regulations, strictly implementing compliance measures, such as qualified investor reviews for U.S. users and clarifying definitions of token economic rights, to ensure long-term stable operation.
We believe that only by showing regulatory authorities our active compliance with laws and regulations can the platform operate sustainably. A platform that can withstand the test of time is the one that can gain the trust of investors.
Odaily: What are the liquidity and exit rules for Jarsy's asset tokens? What are the regulations regarding the holding period?
Han Qin: This is the key to reflecting our credit value. We currently offer two exit mechanisms:
The first type is Pre-IPO companies. If they are already listed, users can choose to sell the corresponding assets through the Jarsy platform to obtain an equivalent amount of cash.
The second option is that regardless of whether it is listed or not, you can sell the tokens back to the Jarsy platform, but whether it can be successfully sold or priced depends on supply and demand.
Jarsy’s asset-backed tokens provide holders with economic benefits related to company stocks. If the value of the tokens fluctuates, users can buy or sell the tokens based on the new price. Jarsy will provide users with the corresponding amount in dollars or USDC as economic benefits at the respective par value. Of course, users need to conduct due diligence to choose which company to invest in as carefully as possible. For compliance and simplification purposes, the corresponding asset-backed tokens cannot be exchanged for equivalent stocks; they can only be cashed out for money. Even if the underlying asset company goes public, users cannot withdraw stocks from Jarsy.
Odaily: According to the investment process, how long does it take for investors to receive tokens from placing an order?
Han Qin: Jarsy has two main modes. One is the spot mode, where it usually takes 1 working day from placing the order to receiving the tokens. The second mode is the presale mode, which is the method mentioned earlier for presale tokens. In this case, there will be a waiting period from placing the order to receiving the tokens, as you need to wait for the project's funding to be in place before placing the order. Of course, it won't be an indefinite wait; a clear timeline will be communicated in advance before placing the order.
Odaily: Lastly, can we talk about Jarsy's entrepreneurial philosophy? How did the team come together to start the project?
Han Qin: Our team has conducted research and deeply understands the difficulties faced by the younger generation in accessing quality assets in an environment of high housing prices, high employment difficulties, and slowing traditional stock market returns. In response to these issues, there is still room for innovation in the industry. We believe we should create quality investment opportunities for young people, and through technological innovation, open a channel for the general public to access quality investment opportunities, achieving true financial freedom.
Working with successful entrepreneurs like Zuckerberg and Travis Kalanick has influenced our team. Rather than seeking short-term high returns through token issuance, we aspire to create a fundamentally innovative product that addresses people's pain points and build a long-term platform that can serve the general public. This is the reason our founders share the same vision.
Of course, we are also aware that it is not a smooth path. In the past, there have been competitors doing the same business, but they only handle on-chain assets without truly staking Pre-IPO shares as assets, merely betting on valuations. That is very unsustainable and can easily lead to a collapse, facing issues of price discovery and price opacity, as well as the risk of underlying assets decoupling. We hope to align ourselves with Circle, which, as a stablecoin, is fully backed by the US dollar, with reserve proofs and compliance as a US company. Therefore, if we want to operate sustainably, there are many operational and regulatory issues we need to overcome. This is not a project that can generate quick money, but once scaled, it has great potential, and we are looking forward to it.