Grayscale has collaborated with Republic to offer three crypto investment products to eligible investors, with a minimum investment of $2,500, covering areas such as decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, and data networks.
Grayscale announced this arrangement on October 15th. The first batch of products provided through Republic includes Grayscale DeFi Fund, Grayscale Decentralized AI Fund, and Grayscale Data Network Trust.
Through this collaboration, Republic indicates that eligible participants will have access to the relevant digital assets without the need to purchase, store, or keep these tokens on their own.
Republic Co-CEO Andrew Durgee stated in describing this collaboration:
"The mission of Republic is focused on digital assets and investor access."
Durgee said that this collaboration allows Republic users to obtain investment opportunities in the early stages of the fund's lifecycle, a phase that is traditionally only open to institutional investors, and "the minimum investment amount is only $2,500."
U.S. investors must meet the qualifications of certified investors.
For U.S. participants, the issuance disclosure documents for Republic indicate that subscriptions will be conducted in accordance with Section 506(c) of Regulation D, and are limited to certified investors only; their qualifications must be verified.
According to the guidelines provided by SEC, individuals can qualify if their net assets exceed $1 million, excluding their primary residence. This requirement can be met either by an individual alone or jointly with a spouse or partner.
Another income requirement is that in the past two years, an individual's annual income must have exceeded $200,000, or together with a spouse or partner, it must have exceeded $300,000. Those applying through this route must also have a reasonable expectation of reaching the same level of income in the current year.
SEC Staff also explained that certain professional qualifications can also serve as part of the qualification pathway. Individuals holding valid Series Level 7, Series Level 65, or Series Level 82 licenses may qualify, in addition to which there are other categories such as informed employees in private equity funds.
For entities, the relevant guidelines list several qualifying categories, including organizations with certain assets exceeding 5 million US dollars, as well as entities whose equity owners are all certified investors.
Outside of the United States, disclosure documents for Republic describe another issuance based on Regulation S, targeted at non-U.S. individuals who meet certain criteria and applicable to offshore transactions. Such offerings are also subject to local requirements and transfer restrictions.
Grayscale DeFi Fund holds 6 tokens after the previous combination adjustment.
In the product line, Grayscale describes its DeFi Fund (code DEFG) as an asset basket weighted by market capitalization, covering protocols that support financial services such as lending, trading, and asset management.
The 6 positions listed on the fund page for Republic are Uniswap, Aave, Ondo, Ethena, Curve, and Lido DAO, which correspond to UNI, AAVE, ONDO, ENA, CRV, and LDO.
Previous adjustments to the portfolio explained how this basket came to its current composition. On May 7th, crypto.news reported that Grayscale removed Aerodrome Finance's AERO tokens during its first-quarter fund review and added Ethena.
According to the report, the management sold AERO and some other components, and using the funds obtained, they purchased ENA in accordance with the methodology of CoinDesk DeFi Select Index.
In the snapshot cited in the report on May 1st, UNI accounted for 35.22% of the fund, followed by AAVE with 21.36% and ONDO with 19.83%. ENA accounted for 13.59%, while CRV and LDO made up 5.27% and 4.73% respectively.
In a composite report on August 6, the media stated that Grayscale subsequently reduced its holdings of UNI and allocated the funds obtained to its existing components.
According to this report, as of August 3, within the configuration of Grayscale, UNI accounted for 34.16%, ONDO accounted for 25.44%, and AAVE accounted for 19.97%. ENA, CRV, and LDO accounted for the remaining 12.19%, 4.42%, and 3.82% respectively.
AI holds 4 types of assets, while DATA Trust is aimed at covering the infrastructure for training data.
For the second product, Grayscale indicates that Decentralized AI Fund provides exposure to blockchain protocols involved in computing, storage, and AI services.
The positions listed in Republic include NEAR Protocol, Bittensor, Render, and Filecoin, corresponding to the tokens NEAR, TAO, RENDER, and FIL.
The composite report for August also records the changes within this basket. According to the configuration published by Grayscale, the manager sold a portion of NEAR and purchased the remaining components in proportion, ensuring that NEAR remains the largest holding, accounting for 31.35%.
The report states that Bittensor follows closely behind, accounting for 29.15%, Render accounts for 21.59%, and Filecoin accounts for 17.91%.
For the third product, Grayscale indicates that its Data Network Trust provides exposure to DATA. DATA is a native token of a blockchain that is designed to collect, verify, and authorize the information used for training AI models.
In the announcement, the management described it as an on-chain record that covers the source of data, licensing conditions, and compensation for contributors and rights holders.
A document submitted on September 24 to SEC shows that the issuer is Grayscale Data Network Trust ( DATA ), a Delaware business trust established in 2025. The revised Form D lists Grayscale Story Trust ( IP ) and Grayscale Trust V as previous names.
In the same document, the trust claims to be exempt under Rule 506(c), and designates July 28, 2025, as the initial sale date.
Private placement terms restrict resale and redemption
According to the issuance terms published by Republic, these shares are classified as restricted securities, with significant restrictions on resale and transfer. Investors are also not permitted to redeem these shares through these products.
The disclosure documents for Republic warn that these private placements are speculative and have insufficient liquidity, and investors may face the risk of losing all their investments.
The platform also stated that these shares were not registered in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933 or the Investment Companies Act of 1940. The disclosure documents indicate that neither SEC nor the federal and state securities regulatory agencies have recommended or approved these investment opportunities.
According to the same terms, digital assets held by the product are subject to risks related to custody, protocols, network security, and regulation. Republic indicates that these investments are not covered by FDIC insurance, and the applicable SIPC protections also do not cover declines in investment value or investment losses.
