Publicly listed companies to launch their own ICOs

ICOs have become a great way to raise millions and minutes, and prominent publicly listed companies are hoping to get in on the action.
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have gained a lot of attention for their ability to raise large sums of money for startups at lightning speeds. The quick pace and potential lucrative pay-out are perhaps what has drawn several publicly listed companies to try their hand at ICO campaigns. Dragon Corp has announced their intention to launch an ICO for its floating casino and aims to raise $500 million USD. The German company, Naga, has also revealed their blockchain-based trading service. In China, NEO is being preferred while the government cracks down on ICOs. While more companies are utilizing ICOs, investors are becoming more eager to invest. NEO is a service which aims to facilitate ICOs in the country, despite the government’s prohibition.

According to Chakrit  Ahmad, CEO of Dragon Corp, the firm intends to generate $500 million through their ICO. The money will be used to construct a floating casino in Macau, otherwise known as the Las Vegas of Asia.

The Asian city lies nestled just across Hong Kong and has their very own administrative region which consists of just a little under one million citizens. According to Ahmad, the Macau gambling industry is considered to be at least seven times bigger than that of Las Vegas, however, in reality, Ahmad notes that this number is likely to be closer to 20.

Once someone invests in the Dragon Corp ICO, they will be issued a coin that can be redeemed at the Dragon Pearl Hotel Casino for casino chips. However, owners can also keep their coins to see what happens to the value over time.

What’s perhaps most surprising about Dragon Corp’s ICO is that they cannot launch an ICO campaign at all, especially considering the Chinese government ban on ICO activity. However, according to Business Insider, ICOs are still active and are constructed in such a way so as to avoid detection. China-based investors pay Chinese companies to orchestrate their trips and are given back casino chips. The number of chips is given as an equivalent of what the covert investor invested. The chips value is non-negotiable.

While unique, the ICO organization can bypass any regional conflicts. According to Ahmed, Dragon only takes 1% of each investment. He also noted that ICOs are a much more transparent and quick way to raise money. It gives the investor full control while helping a company with much-needed capital.

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On the Western front, the German company, Naga, also intends to launch their own unique ICO campaign. The company, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, suggested a decentralized medium which will allow gamers to convert all in-game rewards to either Apple shares or gold by using the service Switex. Alternatively, gamers who are interested in trading can utilize Swipestox. which is a popular trading tool due to its social media aspect.

According to Naga, the Naga Coin will be the driving force behind every cryptocurrency transaction on the platform. However, users can also use their Naga Coin to represent their shares and assets in the company.

It seems impossible that just four years ago, ICOs were non-existent. When tech startups started using ICOs, it was considered to be a novel form of crowdfunding, but it was still an obscure process. However, this last year alone there was an average of 50 new ICOs listed every month. By the end of the year, ICOs will have raked in a total of $3 billion.

Despite ICOs rising popularity among startups and listed companies alike, they are still subject to heavy scrutiny from regulatory agencies. There has been a wave of fraudulent ICOs and subsequent lawsuits, such as the case of Tezos. However, ICOs’ largest obstacle remains government scrutiny and the possibility of prohibition.

China-based ICOs have, according to rumors, managed to evade government detection by using the NEO platform. Despite the strictly illegitimate nature of this activity, the Chinese government does not seem to mind. By using an intermediary such as NEO, there is better money management and a lesser chance of fraudulent ICOs misleading investors. Currently, NEO in eyeing a partnership with Onchain to introduce more ICOs to the Chinese market in the coming year.

Our ICO list contains plenty of information about all the latest ICOs.