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FinTech
2018 – the year of ICO governance
Responsibility to the investor, who unbeknown to them at the time, were betting on a very young market with as high, if not higher, chance of failure as investing in early stage startups.
This doesn’t even take in to account the unscrupulous scam artists, whom with no regulations to abide by, went about raising money from ICOs to simply pocket the cash and run.
Here’s the real shame in all this. A technology still in its infancy was starting to get a bad reputation. People lost money. The press covered the use of cryptocurrencies for drug deals and terrorism. Fraudsters ran away with millions of dollars after selling a fictitious coin. The truth is, the underlying blockchain(s) and DLT technology was being painted with the same brush.
This year is like part 4 of the Star Wars saga; A New Hope. Despite the uncertainty and global forecast on the future of blockchain & cryptocurrency, the light is burning bright at the end of the tunnel. Governments and organisations are looking at how they can regulate the industry, both domestically and internationally.
Gibraltar - a natural home for blockchain businesses As part of that process, Gibraltar has become a natural home for blockchain businesses. The Government can see the true potential and have thus far created supportive regulations for this growing marketplace.
It’s been clear to see the applications and use cases for blockchain and DLT technology. Over the past year we’ve seen amazing use cases to create fast and cheap payment solutions. We’ve seen Smart Contracts used through blockchain for the transfer of assets and supply chain logistics have become more transparent.
No one can deny that this is still just the beginning of this technological revolution. But we’re sitting at the forefront, welcoming what we believe will be 2018, the year of ICO regulations. This isn’t a bad thing for the industry, in fact it’s what we believe will take the industry to a new level.
The GBX Grid is a token launch centre. It allows companies looking to raise funds through an Initial Token Sale a platform to access registered Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering cleared potential participants, in a regulated and responsible way.
Within the ecosystem, there are Sponsor Firms (SF) who are responsible for checking, preparing and presenting potential token sales to the GBX Grid ensuring that full due diligence checks have been made. They are the first line of defence for the market by ensuring that companies comply with the KYC and AML requirements, as well as making sure the token issuer complies with the Token Sale Rules, includ- ing the specified disclosure requirements in order to present a solid white paper and that they complete their obligations going forward after the sale.
The industry as a whole is evolving. There will be new industry standards and best practices that will be required to keep this evolution happening. The goal is to create an open and transparent, institutional grade platform that people can trust.
Future regulations from the Gibraltar government or any internationally recog- nised body will help build a bigger, better and stronger blockchain industry across the globe.
By Nick Cowan, CEO, GSX Group
2017 was a breakout year for crypto. Blockchain hit the limelight and we all watched as markets soared to new heights. A real culture began to develop with it’s own vernacular and terminology, from talk of ‘Lambos’ and ‘HODL’ to a new generation of enthusiastic traders hitting the forums and chat groups.
Seen as the next best thing since the dot.com era, people lept at the chance to get involved, leaving jobs and careers to ride the crypto wave, simply thinking to themselves they could catch the next bitcoin.
That’s the reality of the world we live in. The communication and digital age, where anything can spread like wildfire.
The stats speak for themselves - during 2017, an estimated $5 billion was raised through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Now compared to the traditional financial markets, this is just a drop in the ocean. But when looked at as an isolated marketplace, the total value of the cryptocurrency industry was repeatedly doubling in value over very short periods of time.
Ethereum
A day couldn’t go by without a new ICO hitting the market. You would find adverts, and information and even some very loose business models. There was a new coin for everything and too many uninformed investors were expecting to hit the “crypto
‘The stats speak for themselves - during 2017, an estimated $5 billion was raised through Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
jackpot”. It’s important to remember that the At the GSX Group, we’ve worked origins of the coin business were confined to hard to bring industry standards and best
contributions and donations by almost exclusively the crypto community to fintechs that stood to add to the development of the blockchain industry. The coin provided access to a network or a service i.e. a utility. Take Ethereum, whereby miners are rewarded with ETH, which originally were priced at around $0.35 cents. As of January 13th 2018, the price peaked at $1400, a return of 4,000X.
In any industry, growth is good, but with that growth comes responsibility.
practices from the more traditional Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) to the Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX). Why? Because we know that’s what the industry needs. Governance, regulation and most importantly, transparency.
The market is ready to evolve. People don’t want scandals, they don’t want fraudulent ICOs, they want somewhere to invest in real projects, with genuine founders that actually have a plan to build something great.
www.gsx.gi www.gbx.gi
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Gibraltar International
www.gibraltarinternational.com
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