UPDATED 12:00 EST / MARCH 07 2018

EMERGING TECH

Security tokens give digital crypto real-money appeal

Choke points in the capital markets are making fund seekers antsy for a quicker route to investor cash. Are cryptocurrency security tokens the route through the thicket of barriers to raising capital?

They are, according to Trevor Koverko (pictured, left), chief executive officer of Polymath Inc. “This is kind of like light peaking through the hole where you have reimagined ways to raise capital,” he said.

The Polymath network brings together token investors, smart contract developers, legal pros and knows your customer providers to build the basis of securities tokens. While utility tokens like bitcoin make up almost all of the coin market now, the tide is about to turn — and change the cryptocurrency game, according to Koverko. This is a major reason for the uptick in interest in crypto, he added.

“If you look at the exciting sexiness of having these liquid tokens that kind of feel like stocks but also utilities in the sense that you can use them to do certain things with, that’s a big component of it,” Koverko stated.

Koverko and Genevieve Roch-Decter (pictured, right), chief executive officer of Grit Capital Partners spoke with John Furrier (@furrier), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, at the Polycon18 event in The Bahamas. They discussed the future of securities tokens and the legitimizing of blockchain businesses. (* Disclosure below.)

Hard cash puts proof in blockchain pudding

Polymath and Grit happen to be the companies behind Polycon18. Koverko and Roch-Decter were both impressed with the turnout of serious investors at the show. They are coming to understand how crypto tokens can fuel innovative and profit-rich business strategies, Roch-Decter pointed out.

“Eight months ago, there was literally no publicly traded blockchain company in Canada. Now there’s probably, I think, 70,” she said, adding that some of the checks those companies landed came from institutions. Securities tokens will make investors even more comfortable investing in those types of companies, according to Roch-Decter.

There is a “tsunami of real-world financial aspects migrating to the blockchain,” Koverko said. Polymath, which is overwhelmed with demand right now, is deep in a number of fresh initiatives. One is a securities token-focused venture fund.

“This would be the first one that I know of that exists, and it would be to help our ecosystem get financed,” Koverko said. “And that’s a big component of this marketplace — is capital, is investors, is demand. And we just want to channel all that to the best deals.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Polycon18(* Disclosure: Grit Capital Partners sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Grit Capital Partners nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

 Photo: SiliconANGLE

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