Initial Coin Offerings have become common among users of digital currencies. While the two main big names, Bitcoin and Ethereum keep a strong share of the market and ongoing presence, other currencies are coming out each day to try to compete with the top offerings. The model has been growing on a very speculative way and always following a pre-set model: a company comes along offering a solution to a problem, and they ask investors to buy into their concepts or business proposals by exchanging Ethereum or Bitcoins for their newly created tokens in hopes of a breakthrough.
The uncertainty of new ICO’s
Much could be said of the ethics behind this specific practice. While there are a lot of developers with really good ideas out there waiting for a big break, the fact is that quite a few of them are in the business just for the earnings. A quick Google research can offer some insight into just how many ICO’s have turned out to be scams. This has led to some unsavory consequences in international markets. Countries like China and Korea have banned all ICO initiatives while the United States and the European Union are looking to place regulations on them.
Regulations for the sake of security
One player in the old world has given the first step to offer safe conditions for the investors and to test the mettle of developers. Gibraltar is a country that many people sees as a mere touristic attraction with their iconic rock and the great ocean views, but the country is taking the lead on regulation for digital currencies with a state-funded operation called The Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX). The service is being launched in January of 2018 and their first mission is to ensure the viability of every ICO initiative that intends to operate in the European country.
Backing up new means of trade with old rules
The idea behind the creation of The GBX comes from the mind of Nick Cowan, the founder of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. The man has a great deal of experience handling trade and stock exchange in the regular FIAT market. He perceived the growth of Cryptocurrencies as an expanding process taking on too much, and too quick, and more important: enclosing a lot of risks for private citizens and the economy of the country in the long run. His intention is to apply the same controls, rules, and regulations that control the FIAT market to the world of digital currencies and make them comply with EU legislation.
The Gibraltar Blockchain System actually has an uncomplicated system to work: A company wishing to set up a new ICO to rise funding in the country must apply for registration with the GBX to be subject to regulation. The company will be audited by a sponsor firm appointed by the GBX to make sure that the people behind the initiative plans to do what they offer in their whitepaper. Once they are cleared, they will be listed by the organism and will be offered a list of potential investors that are also registered in the system to work out the deal of their preference.
GBX: looking out for everyone’s interests
GBX is well aware of the security offered by Blockchain Technology and they see their protocols as an extra layer of security. Their purpose is to create an ecosystem where a middleman has cleared every participant of ICO offerings in compliance with the set of rules formulated by the GBX and by international law to avoid frauds of any kind. They also look forward to bring clarity and order with a system based on consensus while avoiding the anarchic nature of unsupervised ICO operations. This initiative is being funded with a new token called “The Rock Token” the currency will be used for multiple functions but the more important will be to serve as a medium of exchange in the GBX ecosystem. To learn more about this powerful initiative you can check the following:
GBX Official Website
GBX Whitepaper
GBX ANN Thread
GBX Telegram Group
Thank you for your time,
Jack Andrew