Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) were all the rage in late 2017, allowing start-ups to access capital which would typically have been out of reach. By early 2018, their credibility as an investment tool was already faltering. Projects started failing. Scams and bad actors became prevalent. A new financial “Wild West” had emerged.
In an attempt to combat this trend, SME funding platform, Investx, announced this week that its public sale for the INX utility token is to be conducted as an ‘ethical ICO’.
Replicating a model first conceived by Holo, which completed an ethical ICO in April 2018 and raised $20 million to fund its distributed computing platform, Investx are hoping to also raise $20 million to fund a blockchain-based SME fundraising platform.
Abiding by three ICO principles the company describes as ‘ethical’, the Investx team believe that they’ll be able to reduce risk for potential investors and maximise the long-term value of the company’s token. ‘Ethical’ features include the creation of a reserve fund – reducing volatility and acting as a value floor – as well as implementing a sustainable token supply.
To support the new project, Investx have brought on board David Atkinson, a Director at Holochain, to advise and assist with the ICO:
ICO investors are looking for something extra these days – honesty, openness, accountability and moderation,” remarks Atkinson. “When we conceived the ethical ICO model for Holo, it was about giving investors assurances that we would keep to these principles. With Investx, we have evolved these ethical principles.
