Cryptocurrencies, despite the wider public perception of it, wasn't just meant to be an investment vehicle. The blockchain technology underlying the industry, way I see it, is utilitarian in nature, rather than simply a way to verify exchanges between parties.
DeFi has become a formidable tool that, if fully mature, could strongarm the Central Bank provided enough people rally under it. The NFT segment has gained notoriety amongst the public, owing to the constant barrage of money laundering allegations directed towards it, complicated by the unquantifiable environmental damage the overall industry is incurring, but its standing is proof of its feasibility. GameFi is also piggy-backing off of the principle of NFTs. All of these segments, though different in their conceptions, rely definitively on the basic principle of the Blockchain: Decentralized verification of exchange.
With the onslaught of those new segments of the industry, coupled with growing public awareness, Cryptocurrency intertwining with other sectors of our life is quickly becoming an inevitability. This time, we've intertwined with the law sector, serving as a fundraising aid to the financially challenged rather than clashing with the big bad regulators trying to stifle us down.
Initial Litigation Offering (ILO)
The upbringing of ILOs is rather interesting. The concept was first brought to the test by Apothio LLC in a lawsuit against Kern Sheriff's County office for the scorching of over a billion dollars worth of land and crop. Basically, ILOs can be described as a GoFundMe, but instead of simply donating money towards a cause, ILOs can be utilized as a decentralized funding method, as well as gamify the lawsuit at hand.
ILOs, from the perspectives of both the plaintiff leveling the charges as well as the investors/people willing to donate, are particularly advantageous over regular crowdfunding methods. Firstly, the employment of a decentralized solution completely side-steps the near-insurmountable regulations imposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Thus, ILOs pave a markedly easier path to investors who never made it to the regulator's accreditation criteria.
Secondly, there is potential for great profits to be made for whomever invests in a lawsuit's corresponding ILO, ranking up to even %300 APY in terms of ROI. In case of a court dismissal, however, the value of the ILOs can be refunded back to the investors.
Execution of ILOs
ILOs were first conceived by Apothio's legal representative team, famously known for their battle against Craig Wright, in partnership with AVA Labs' Avalanche Blockchain, basically bringing the lawsuit's token to the global market. Whenever the required legal costs are met, the ILOs are liquidated, and any overflowing amount over that target, including their initial amount invested, is returned to the investors.
It is worth noting that creating and investing ILOs is superbly accessible to individuals and small-time investors gambling on the final lawsuit's verdict. Whereas, in contrast, such sizable donations would be possible only to a select of ultra-rich, accredited investors investing in high-profile cases. Thus, the bar of entry for both sides is signficantly lowered for both parties.
Conclusion
The blockchain is beginning to manifest itself in much more impactful, meaningful ways. We are beginning to witness it migrate outside the realm of finance and entertainment into a space where centralized operations are walling off all except the ones at the very top. Decentralization is breaking those walls down, and we've witnessed this very thing happening in the Apothio lawsuit.