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Fintech blockchain fundraising platform BnkToTheFuture raises $33M in ICO
Fintech and blockchain fundraising platform BnkToTheFuture has raised some money for itself, netting $33 million via an initial coin offering.
Founded back in 2010, the Hong Kong-based company, formally known as Keystone Capital Corp., offers an equity crowdfunding platform. It allows users to invest in private companies starting with the equivalent of $10. But unlike others in equity crowdfunding, it was the first to support investments made in bitcoin.
The ICO consisted of two stages, the first a private token sale limited to accredited investors, which sold out in 15 hours. The second stage, the public sale of 30 million ERC-20 compatible BFT tokens, sold out in a staggering two minutes and 17 seconds.
“In 2015 our platform allowed our investors to obtain equity exposure in what have become some of today’s most valuable companies such as BitFinex, Kraken, BitStamp, BitPay and ShapeShift, among many others,” founder and Chief Executive Officer Simon Dixon said in a statement.
Dixon took pains to note that the company has followed securities laws in it offerings. “In 2017 ICOs dwarfed equity investing for our industry,” he said. “As the regulatory landscape evolves we believe that 2018 will see issuers increasingly acknowledge the need to issue tokens with securities laws in mind.”
Notable investors in the ICO included Kinetic Capital, FBG Capital, Hashed (Formerly Blockchain Partners Korea), Charlie Schrem’s CryptoIQ, Roaming Capital and other bitcoin industry veterans.
To the company’s credit, this is the first time it has raised money since 2015, when it raised $10 million in a crowdfunding campaign.
Image: BnkToTheFuture
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