Kevin O’Leary – known for selling SoftKey International for $4 Billion dollars and for appearing on Shark Tank – declared that he’s trying to launch a cryptocurrency coin offering.
The news appeared on monday on CNBC where O’Leary declared that a “very prestigious brand hotel” from New York will sell ownership based on an initial coin offering, rather than a classic stock IPO.
“There’s a big deal coming in New York in the next three weeks, It’s a $400 million coin issuance for a real asset you’ve heard of.”
The name of the hotel was not provided because of a nondisclosure agreement. However, Mr. Wonderful declared that its a ”real asset you’ve heard of”.
“Instead of a stock, a share, it’s a coin. With a smart contract approved by the SEC, You will be an owner of a third of this hotel. If it works, it will be the first of its kind.”
‘Mr Wonderful’ is also known as a cryptocurrency enthusiast, after speaking about Bitcoin on TV in September 2017. This time, he’s trying to change the market and come up with something new. He stated that the hotel he’s involved with will do anything they can to respect the government securities rules.
“The key is to go to the regulator and say, ‘I want to work with you. I don’t want to tear the world apart. I want to be regulated. I want to do this by the rules. I don’t want to destroy the government. I want to make money.I ‘m a believer that asset-based coins will replace small-cap stocks,”
And he’s probably right. If his initial coin offering would be a success, we would have the first example of a smart contract regulated under the government securities rules. Moreover, his initial coin offering could be the start of eliminating the middle-man in selling assets.
His direct bold approach proves that investors are realizing that initial coin offerings could be a better option compared with an IPO. Would his initiative be an example and convince more investors to adopt this new way of selling assets? Would his ICO be approved by SEC?