Re, an on-chain protocol that connects real-world reinsurance capital with decentralized finance, has received a strategic investment from Coinbase Ventures, the venture capital arm of Coinbase, to accelerate its mission of bringing reinsurance capital on-chain and opening up one of the world’s largest and most traditional financial markets to a wider range of investors.
Re said it plans to use the proceeds to expand its underwriting capabilities, grow its protocol team and accelerate the adoption of its flagship product reUSD, a deposit token issued by Resilience Foundation Cayman LLC that is available to non-U.S. persons in select regions.
Re explained that its ecosystem brings together the re.xyz on-chain “re” protocol, operated by Resilience Foundation Cayman LLC, and the regulated reinsurance business under the “Cover Re” brand on coverre.com, operated by Cover Reinsurance SPC Ltd., a Cayman Islands Class B(iii) licensed exempt independent portfolio company.
The company has reportedly written $500 million in premiums through Cover Re SPC to date, supporting policies covering nearly 1 million U.S. households.
The company said it expects to add $400 million in new business this year, taking annual revenue to about $1 billion by early 2027.
RE observed, “Much of Coinbase Ventures’ recent activity has been focused on teams moving existing businesses and real-world assets onto the chain, an argument that lends itself well to reinsurance: premiums flow in, claims flow out, and regulators monitor the entire cycle.
“Re’s view is that the hard part is already there. Underwriting earns real revenue, policyholders are real, and the risk resides within the regulated carrier. What the company is moving on-chain is the capital behind it. Its reUSD token runs on Base, Coinbase’s own Ethereum layer 2 network, and the protocol accepts USDC deposits.”
The company continued, “Reinsurance’s model is built on a structural gap at the heart of one of the world’s largest markets: Reinsurance still relies on very little modern infrastructure.
“Settlement can take months, most data is still transmitted via spreadsheets and emails, and there are no exchanges, no standard contracts, and no real-time pricing of stocks and bonds for decades. The last major structural innovation was catastrophe bonds, dating back to 1997.
“Reframing the resulting inefficiencies as protection gaps — losses that should have been covered, but not because capital couldn’t respond to risks quickly enough — the firm estimates the shortfall at $1.8 trillion over the past decade.”
“On-chain, Re splits the reinsurance risk into parts, so-called reUSD and reUSDe assets. Only reUSD is available on Base, while USDC is accepted for deposits. Traditionally, this risk has been borne by a closed circle of funds and reinsurers that have bundled capital and reported on a quarterly basis for years.
“The company’s pitch is that holders of reUSD can see token backers and exit if they choose, while the underwriting and regulation behind the underlying policy will not change. According to Re, the attraction of capital comes from earnings on insurance premiums, not from leverage or token emissions – and will not fluctuate with cryptocurrency or stock market fluctuations.”
Karn Saroya, CEO and founder of Re, commented: “Reinsurance is one of the largest pools of capital in the world, and almost no one has access to it.
“Partnering with Coinbase Ventures allows us to open it up to more people and maintain the discipline that this business requires.”
