Recently, the cryptocurrency world witnessed what appears to be a new record in regards to initial coin offerings (ICO).
The upstart web browser, Brave, managed to raise $35 million in less than 30 seconds from the initial cryptocurrency offerings of its token platform, called the Basic Attention Token (BAT).
Brave is the firm behind the web browser and was founded by Brendan Eich, the former CEO of Mozilla.
As the world opens up to cryptocurrency, there has been an increase in the number of tech firms and startups employing ICOs to raise funds.
ICO is an unregulated way of crowdfunding the release of new cryptocurrency.
Essentially, firms sell tokens for the new cryptocurrency to fund technical development before it is officially released.
It is also an increasingly preferred method of storing value by tech companies.
Brave created the BAT system and managed to sell one billion tokens. According to a statement from Brave, the total tokens sold cost 156,250 ETH, which is the equivalent of just over $35 million.
The firm is storing a further 500 million BAT for future development and user growth in the platform. Brave stated that the company would not be having any token sales in future.
One major drawback of this $1 million per second rate of ICO purchases is that a limited number of people were able to buy into the cryptocurrency tokens.
Reports reveal that around 130 individuals were able to purchase tokens, and half of the supply was bought by only five buyers with one unidentified buyer purchasing 20,000 ETH worth of tokens.
This sum is the equivalent of approximately $4.7 million. Another buyer traded over $6,000 in Ethereum mining fees to have a chance of buying into BAT.
An analysis conducted after the sale by Joseph Lee, founder of Magnr Bitcoin exchange, revealed that two-thirds of the tokens are controlled by the top 20 cryptocurrency buyers.
This has generated varied sentiments online as many cryptocurrency investors were locked out of the sale.
This situation seems to go against the common notion among holders of the cryptocurrency Ethereum, that anyone can have ownership of the firms they buy into through token sales.
Creating opportunities for smaller stakeholders is an important challenge that initial cryptocurrency offerings are going to face as they increase in popularity.
Brave was quick to term the ICO sale a big success, adding that they aim to disrupt digital advertising and develop a web-supporting platform that is focused on user experience.
Brave's initial cryptocurrency offering is currently the highest grossing sale, and the company has plans in place to utilize the blockchain technology.
Prior to starting Brave, Eich broke away from Mozilla under controversial circumstances back in 2014.
He raised funds separately for Brave, including Founder Fund, which totals more than $7 million.
Eich stated that the inspiration for the Brave platform comes from the shortfalls of existing internet advertisement systems.
The ambitious system he is proposing will utilize blockchain technology to make internet marketing more efficient for both users and stakeholders.
Brave intends to employ BAT as the mode of transaction in its advertising environment.
The firm claims that the token can significantly reduce online advertisement fraud and provides a better experience for advertisers and publishers.
It is also looking into using BAT to facilitate micropayment and digital goods sales in the future.
The firm's proposed web-supporting platform will offer consumers fast loading times, privacy controls as well as the potential for users to earn by reading content.
Brave's flagship browser made headway in the cryptocurrency world as it incorporates a system for sharing advertising revenue that is based on tokens.
It may be safe to state that the speed of ICO sales indicates that the cryptocurrency community is confident of the potential that this upstart shows
Users are definitely looking forward to a Brave in-browser environment that fully incorporates the BAT system.
Brave announced that it would be open-sourcing the code behind the tokens.
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