“Crowdfunding on steroids”: The new ‘initial coin offering’ craze explained

Today initial coin offerings are raising millions of dollars in the blink of an eye, but just 12 months ago, mentioning an ‘ICO’ would have gotten you nothing but blank stares and confused questions.

The rise of this new form of crowdfunding can be traced alongside the increased adoption and acceptance of the blockchain and its capabilities. What was once thought of as a home for digital currency Bitcoin has now developed into a burgeoning sector providing startups with opportunities for disruption and innovation.

Much of this can be credited to the development of the Ethereum blockchain, a new chain similar to Bitcoin in many ways, except with much quicker transaction times and the addition of programmable “smart contracts”. These smart contracts at their base level allow terms of an agreement between buyers and sellers to be written into a code and sent and logged on the blockchain, opening up a world of possibilities for blockchain startups.

One such startup is Australian blockchain company Veredictum, which has used the Ethereum blockchain to develop an anti-piracy and content distribution platform. Founder Tim Lea and his team have been working on the product since 2015, and with a product ready to go, all the company needs now are the funds to run the platform and continue to develop it. Read more

Dominic Powell - Startup Smart - 7 July 2017