It can be argued that Initial Coin Offerings () have become popular crowdfunding means not just within the crypto community but in the mainstream world of finance as well. 2017 saw an astronomical increase not only in the number of crypto fundraising platforms but also in the amount of capital that they were able to raise. This invariably led to the brightening of the regulatory spotlight with and becoming commonplace.
Tokenize All the Things!
A significant majority of ICO crowdfunding campaigns have been carried out by startups trying to secure funding for their projects. However, some investors have sought to use the model as a means of funding projects that don’t fit into the conventional crypto/blockchain-related startup enterprise.
This shift stems from the belief that just about any asset can be tokenized and issued on a blockchain. While this idea might have some merit, it appears an attempt to accomplish such an operation has fallen through.
In March 2018, broke of investors’ plans to buy the iconic Plaza Hotel in New York by means of an ICO. At the time, the story held that the plans were still in their preliminary stages, recent reports indicate that the deal may never happen.
The Proposed Plan
A group of investors called were interested in purchasing the Plaza Hotel via an ICO. The group planned to issue a token called the “Plaza Token” which would be sold to investors to raise capital that would be used to purchase the hotel from the Sahara Group.
Unlike many ICO tokens, the Plaza Token entitled the investor to a portion of equity in the investment group. The target for the proposed ICO was set at about $375 million.
Following the media buzz on the subject, Kevin O’Leary spoke about the plan during an interview with CNBC in March. There were reports that Shahal Khan, the principal investor of the Chimera Group, was already in talks with Sahara Group towards agreeing on a deal.
Sahara Group has been trying since 2017 with many buyers signifying interest since that time. Sahara had initially bought a controlling stake in the hotel for $570 in the year 2012. The hotel once belonged to U.S President, in the late 80s and early 90s.
However, there have been from multiple sources that the deal is not progressing. According to these sources, the project has failed to attract investors, thus repelling other investors from the sale.
These developments have cast the future of the ICO into serious doubt. Part of the initial plan, as reported by Business Insider, was that Chimera would hold a private investment round to raise about $675 million for the hotel.
The ICO would then have been used to pay off the debt from the purchase. Unfortunately, none of these two options appear to be in the works at the moment as the deal seems to have stalled.
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Even with the slump in the price of and other cryptocurrencies, world interest in the nascent is steadily on the increase. In another move to the mainstream, top business schools are now offering related courses to keep up with demand and remain relevant.
The Crypto Fever Is Real
Last year bitcoin held the world spellbound with its in value. Although 2018 hasn’t been particularly bullish so far, interest in crypto and blockchain is still red-hot as students are now demanding more distributed ledger related courses. As such, institutions of learning have been left with no choice other than to formulate crypto-rich DLT programs.
Institutions including the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business are all fortifying their blockchain and cryptocurrency classes with up to date topics in a bid to satisfy the yearnings of students and employers.
to CNBC, if not for the efforts of MBA student Itamar Orr, Stanford wouldn’t have added a full-time cryptocurrency course to the 2018 academic curriculum. Orr organized 12 of his classmates and wrote a letter to the top professors and partners of the school, informing them of the need to have a full-time crypto course
“They were always pop-ups. Many of us will have to discuss blockchain at our jobs. It makes sense to teach it. It gets you a competitive advantage; it’s an extra hammer in your toolbox.”
Even with the volatile nature of the crypto ecosystem and the very nascent nature of blockchain technology, quite a number of VCs still pumped their money into distributed ledger-based startups. Per a Pitchfork , Venture capital investments in the sector rose by 88 percent last year, skyrocketing to a whopping $911 million.
Cryptocraze Fueling Interests
It’s stale news that if not for the massive returns of and some altcoins over the years, many firms and high net worth individuals wouldn’t have had interest in blockchain technology today.
, a renowned crypto enthusiast and professor of cryptocurrency at Stanford Graduate School of Business further confirms this fact. In her words:
“The fluctuations in the prices have everyone mesmerized: just how did this happen? Many people have gone boom or bust, and that’s of course, exciting attracts a lot of interest and motivates people to understand what’s going on.”
It’s worth noting that the professor is also a board member of the world’s number three cryptocurrency , and many others.
The one time Nasdaq top official who’s now functioning as an executive director at Georgetown Business School hinted that even Wall Street has caught the crypto bug as recruiters often call John Jacobs on the phone saying “You need to train them. We need people to understand how to apply blockchain technology.” Jacobs iterated that:
“Any world-class program is going to have to equip students in this field to compete. It’s everywhere we turn around.”
The revolution is on. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain are taking over the entire world: If you don’t join the movement, you’ll be left behind in the journey of innovation. The time is now.
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