Venture capitalist and co-founder Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures was not interested in providing the original coin, or ICO, to disrupt his work.
In a new blog post, Wilson, which has invested in startups such as Coinbase, Blockstack and Mediachain, as well as Polychain Capital hedge funds, commented on the initiative of Bitcoin Brave.
The ICO model - through which startups can access finance by selling codes through a blockchain network - is a predominant theme today, with widespread speculation on open markets (wearing Although others believe that this model is primarily a fraudulent behavior for unintentional investors).
In his blog, Wilson argues that some observers see the number of ICOs rising as evidence of "the end of the hated VC era of startup funds." He pushed back the notion of retracting this view, pointing out that for startups, joint ventures and the ICO could serve clear purposes of equal value.
Indeed, USV itself has a number of startups in the pursue model portfolio, and according to Wilson, others will be followed. But he goes on to say that "not all companies can make an ICO," claiming they are "a completely different business model" rather than a means of making money.
"The token code you sell in the ICO is the atomic unit of your business model," he writes. "You are selling part of it to raise capital, but the main purpose of the token is to make money from your product or service."
Wilson also pointed out, compared to a card holder that may not last long, some VCs have to do it. And while he acknowledges this, in his view, ICOs represent "a legitimate harassment threat" to the VC model, "this is not something I'm worried about nor is it something that USV worried ".
He went on to say:
"We are delighted that they are the right thing for our investment companies and we encourage them to use this new approach."
Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of the Digital Currency Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Brave, BlockStack and Coinbase.