The Trade Republic app.Trade Republic
LONDON — German stock-trading app Trade Republic said Thursday it raised $900 million in a huge funding round that values the start-up at $5.3 billion.
The round, a Series C, was led by American venture capital firm Sequoia, with additional backing from new investors TCV and Thrive Capital. Existing shareholders include Accel, Founders Fund and Creandum increased their holdings.
Trade Republic is essentially Europe’s answer to Robinhood. The app lets users trade in stocks and exchange-traded funds without paying a commission. Trade Republic makes money from a flat 1 euro ($1.22) fee it charges per trade.
Trade Republic recently added a cryptocurrency feature, launched just as the prices of bitcoin and other digital coins were rallying wildly. More recently, crypto markets have suffered a sharp downturn.
Like Robinhood, Trade Republic has benefited from rising interest from retail investors in the stock market. Earlier this year, usage of online trading platforms spiked amid volatile trading in GameStop and other stocks promoted on the Reddit board WallStreetBets.
Trade Republic says Europeans are flocking to financial markets as they struggle to make a decent return on their savings due to ultra-low interest rates. The company now has more than 6 billion euros in assets under management.
“Fifty
