First government backed up virtual coin is about to get launched in a small Baltic country - Estonia.
The cryptocurrency, called "estcoin," could be launched via the digital coin community's version of crowdfunding : an initial coin offering (ICO).
ICOs enable start-ups to raise funds by selling off cryptocoins, such as bitcoin and ether, in return for cash. They are similar to initial public offerings (IPOs), but differ in that they deal with supporters of a project, making the investment more personal.
The eastern European is not a novice for the digital innovation, being the first country to offer citizens of the world "e-residency," a digital ID for non-Estonians that offers access to services like banking, payment processing and taxation.
Vitalik Buterin, the founded the blockchain network Ethereum, is backing up Estonia's project on his feedback to this proposal:
"An ICO within the e-residency ecosystem would create a strong incentive alignment between e-residents and this fund, and beyond the economic aspect makes the e-residents feel like more of a community since there are more things they can do together," Buterin said.
"Additionally if these estcoins are issued on top of a blockchain (they could possibly be issued in multiple formats at the same time, nothing wrong with this) then it would become easy and convenient to use them inside of smart contracts and other applications," Buterin said in his blog post.
So, what do you think, will Estonia be the first 'truly digital society'?