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The tech industry is opening its eyes to the possibilities of raising money using cryptocurrencies<\/a> like bitcoin and Ethereum through \u2018initial coin\u00a0offerings,\u2019<\/a>\u00a0and it\u2019s about to see the first ICO from a major venture-backed company.<\/p>\n Last week, Kik, a messaging app popular with young people in North America,\u00a0announced an ambitious plan to launch its own currency<\/a> as a basis for a developer community. Kik has raised over $120 million from investors to date and it claims 300 million registered users,\u00a0making it the most established company to throw its hat in the ICO ring thus far, but it is about to be beaten to the punch by Omise, a Thailand-based company that provides Stripe-like payment features in Japan and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n Four-year-old Omise has raised $17.5 million from investors, including SBI, Sinar Mas and Ascend Group, but now it is turning to cryptocurrencies and the blockchain for its next move. The company is looking to raise up to $19 million through the sale of its own coin \u2014 OMG, short for\u00a0Omise Go<\/a> \u2014 which will be used to power a network that lets\u00a0users transfer money and make payments without the need for a bank account or high service fees.<\/p>\n The core\u00a0aim is to encourage financial inclusion in emerging markets by creating\u00a0a platform that other companies beyond Omise can use.<\/p>\n Bloomberg previously reported<\/a>\u00a0on Omise\u2019s desire to hold an ICO. Omise declined to provide a specific date for the event, but sources close to the company told\u00a0TechCrunch it is on course to hold a token sale on June 7.<\/p>\n Under proposed terms, 65 percent of all coins will be released during the sale. A further\u00a020 percent will be retained\u00a0by Omise for future costs and expenses with 10 percent left for the company\u2019s team. The remaining five percent is set aside for \u201cairdropping,\u201d which essentially means that small amounts will be given to people who already own Ethereum\u2019s Ether coin to stoke interest and widen engagement.<\/p>\n The company isn\u2019t planning to make another token sale in the future, representatives told TechCrunch, in order to prevent dilution.<\/p>\n ICOs, or token sales, have to date proven popular with blockchain- and bitcoin-focused companies, but the appeal and possibilities are beginning to spark interest\u00a0among more mainstream businesses in the tech domain. CNBC recently reported<\/a> that ICOs have raised $180 million this year, compared to $101 million in all of\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n Cloud services firm Storj<\/a> is generally agreed to be one of the more successful initial coin offerings to date having raised $30 million from its Storjcoin<\/a> thus far. Digital identity platform\u00a0Civic is planning an offering<\/a> that could top that, according to CNBC, but neither has raised anything like the capital from traditional VCs as Kik or Omise.<\/p>\n Kik\u2019s plan for its coin \u2014 which will be called Kin<\/a> \u2014 is focused around enabling a developer ecosystem that isn\u2019t reliant on advertising. It\u2019s a major play against existing systems like Facebook, and therefore bold and risky. Omise, meanwhile, is taking a more conventional path with its plan to develop a wholly decentralized payment platform \u2014 Omise Go.<\/p>\n The company, which serves \u201cthousands\u201d of business customers in Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, currently operates as a payment enabler that lets companies take money from customers online. That predominantly focuses on credit cards but, unlike larger global players such as Stripe, Omise offers support for alternative options such as paying over the counter at convenience stores. That\u2019s because credit card and bank account penetration is substantially lower in emerging markets like Southeast Asia so alternatives are needed in order to cater to mass market consumers.<\/p>\n With Omise Go \u2014 and the \u201cOMG\u201d coin \u2014 Omise wants to remove even more of the boundaries by removing even the need to own a bank account. Omise plans to outsource its mobile wallet technology, and develop a decentralized payment system using the blockchain and OMG, which\u00a0Ethereum\u2019s ERC20 token standard. By decentralizing its network, Omise hopes to offer a more level playing field for fintech startups \u2014 avoiding the expense of working with firms like Visa \u2014 and ultimately increase\u00a0financial inclusion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason we chose blockchain technology is that we want to build a network that people can actually trust,\u201d Omise co-founder Donnie Harinsut said in a video explaining the motivation behind\u00a0the token offering.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want everyone to have access to financial services no matter who you are in society. It\u2019s a fundamental right, not a privilege,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Beyond a fundraising event for the company, the ICO offers an opportunity for would-be investors to buy into the Omise Go network. OMG coin owners will be able to make money \u2014 like a dividend \u2014 by\u00a0earning fees from validating transactions that occur on the Omise Go network. There\u2019s also the potential to sell their coin should the value of it increase \u2014 that\u2019s dependent on the network and success of the product.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t an overnight decision\u00a0for Omise. The startup has invested in cryptocurrencies and the blockchain since 2015, that included providing\u00a0a $100,000 grant<\/a>\u00a0for the Ethereum Foundation\u2019s Devgrants program. It lists Ethereum creator\u00a0Vitalik Buterin among its advisors, and it brought in\u00a0\u201cspecial advisors\u201d Wendell Davis and Thomas Greco from the foundation to spearhead\u00a0the Omise Go project.<\/p>\n Prior to its June ICO, Omise has published a technical whitepaper<\/a>\u00a0and a crowdsale document<\/a> \u2014 think a pre-IPO prospectus, but for ICOs \u2014 to provide further color on its plans. There\u2019s even a dedicated Slack channel<\/a> where interested investors can ask questions and gather further information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/10\/omise.jpg?w=680\")
The tech industry is opening its eyes to the possibilities of raising money using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum through ‘initial coin\u00a0offerings,’\u00a0and it’s about to see the first ICO from a major venture-backed company. Last week, Kik, a messaging app popular with young people in North America,\u00a0announced an ambitious plan to launch its own currency as a basis for… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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