Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have already raised $4.2 billion this year – more than half the amount raised all of last year.

An ICO is like an initial public offering — but instead of offering shares in a company, an issuer offers digital tokens that can be traded on cryptocurrency platforms or swapped for digital services.

This week the TechKnow Invest Roadshow will feature a number of ICOs at events in Sydney (April 10 at the Radisson Blue Hotel) and Melbourne (April 12 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel). More informatiom here.

Last year about $7.8 billion was raised globally in 877 ICOs according to ICO data. This year there have already been 533 ICOs.

Despite some negative sentiment around bitcoin, ICOs have proved a popular way for investors to gain exposure to blockchain — a distributed ledger platform that records transactions involving digital tokens sold in ICOs.

By comparison, blockchain ventures raised about $1.3 billion by more traditional means last year.

While last year was a record-breaker for ICOs 2018 is starting to look like a year of maturation as institutional money starts to move into the space.

Locally, about two dozen ASX-listed Australian companies have spruiked the technology as integral to their future, though Digital X (ASX:DCC) is the only pure-play blockchain advisory on the local bourse.

The blockchain technology company has this year been appointed as an advisor to five ICOs ranging from aiding in user-generated content to the world’s largest genomic data-hub.

GlobalGuard is one of Digital X’s latest appointments – the two are working together on a world-first blockchain and AI project to identify emerging email-borne cyber threats.

It’s the brainchild of Melbourne-based SaaS company MailGuard, which hails it as the next generation of cybersecurity and threat detection.

“GlobalGuard will leverage the past 17 years of MailGuard threat data and IP, in combination with an artificially intelligent neural network, trained to detect cybersecurity threats,” said MailGuard CEO Craig McDonald.

Bamboo Blockchain is a micro savings platform for users to invest in cryptocurrencies with a round-up app and Mosaic a decentralised market intelligence network for crypto assets.

 

The Global Guard chief will take centre stage as one of Digital X’s ICO spotlight companies, alongside Bamboo Blockchain and Mosaic this week at the TechKnow Invest Roadshow in Sydney on Tuesday April 10 (at the Radisson Blue Hotel) and in Melbourne on Thursday April 12 (at the Grand Hyatt Hotel).

Featured Companies

You might be interested in