First, we had initial coin offerings (ICOs). Today, we have the first “initial convertible coin offering” (ICCO), according to Malta based blockchain firm Palladium. The Palladium site says it is offering “banking designed for the crypto age as Palladium consolidates access to crypto & fiat in a single platform.”
Founder and chairman of Palladium, Prof. Paolo Catalfamo calls Palladium’s “offering one of the most unique investment opportunities in the blockchain world.” Catalfamo is also Chairman of GlobalCapital plc. which recently announced its intent to pursue blockchain tech.
Today’s launch was reportedly attended by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Financial Services Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri, and MFSA CEO Joseph Cuschieri.
The company apparently addressed the Malta Stock Exchange recently where Catalfamo said they expect the project to be huge, creating more than 100 job opportunities “a historic landmark and to bridge the gap between traditional financial services and cryptocurrencies.”
The tokenized convertible warrant is said to be regulated and approved by the Malta Financial Services Authority. The security will give investors the right to convert the tokens into shares of Palladium three years after the issue date. Catalfamo said his platform provides a solution to “the biggest obstacles to widespread crypto adoption: cumbersome management of cryptocurrencies and regulatory uncertainty surrounding their use.”
“This ICCO is one of the most unique investment opportunities in the blockchain world. Institutional investors recognize the scale of the opportunity, but the lack of regulation has kept them watching from the sidelines. Palladium’s solution will change this,” stated Catalfamo. “Cutting-edge blockchain technology will allow customers to use regulation- compliant, multi-asset accounts to manage fiat and crypto currencies.”
[clickToTweet tweet=”‘This #ICCO is one of the most unique investment opportunities in the blockchain world. Institutional investors recognize the scale of the opportunity, but the lack of regulation has kept them watching from the sidelines’ #Blockchain” quote=”‘This #ICCO is one of the most unique investment opportunities in the blockchain world. Institutional investors recognize the scale of the opportunity, but the lack of regulation has kept them watching from the sidelines’ #Blockchain”]
Catalfamo praised Malta for being at the forefront of blockchain technology. Malta recently approved several acts of legislation designed to clarify the regulatory environment for digital assets. The MFSA has a dedicated blockchain division to help encourage innovation and compliance.
The fundraising target for Palladium tokens is set at €150 million with the pre-sale starting today. The offering period for subscription of the tokenized securities will run from July 25 to September 30.
Proceeds are expected to be used to support the three core blocks of Palladium’s solution:
- 50 % will go towards the acquisition of a controlling interest in a European bank;
- 35 % into the formation of a regulated crypto exchange and the development of a clearing and settlement blockchain platform
- 15 %t into strategic investments in financial services and blockchain companies complementing Palladium’s business.
The Palladium crypto exchange is said to be the result of a partnership between Palladium, Unikrn and Bittrex.
Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara, who attended the launch, said they are committed to advancing projects with high potential;
“Our partnership will launch a new trading platform powered by Bittrex technology, and its customers will have access to the large selection of innovative utility tokens listed on Bittrex, which we chose using our industry-leading token review process. We’re excited that this project will help further increase adoption of blockchain technology and continue to expand our business globally.”
Rahul Sood, founder of Unikrn who is also a shareholder in Palladium, added;
“There’s nothing like this in the history of banking or cryptocurrency. Palladium has found a way to solve some of cryptocurrency’s biggest drawbacks with a single solution within existing regulations.”
Sood, in a post on Medium called other “historic” cryptocurrency projects guppies but described Palladium as a “shark.”
“Palladium will become the first regulated unified platform for fiat banking and cryptocurrency exchange, meaning users will be able to make cryptocurrency payments for their bills, buy crypto from their checking account, or swap crypto assets without needing multiple wallets and accounts, all from a single platform. Palladium Exchange, powered by Bittrex, will be the first regulated exchange to allow both security and utility tokens to be transacted,” said Sood.
Great dinner in #Malta, pre dinner for the launch, which is an invite only event at the Malta Stock Exchange tomorrow! #blockchain #Bitcoin #ethereum #crypto #unikrn #boom
🇲🇹🦄🇺🇸🦖 pic.twitter.com/VGZ9mIUhos
— Rahul Sood 🦄 (@rahulsood) July 9, 2018
[clickToTweet tweet=”“There’s nothing like this in the history of banking or cryptocurrency. Palladium has found a way to solve some of cryptocurrency’s biggest drawbacks with a single solution within existing regulations.”” quote=”“There’s nothing like this in the history of banking or cryptocurrency. Palladium has found a way to solve some of cryptocurrency’s biggest drawbacks with a single solution within existing regulations.””]
Palladium has some interesting names on its Board and Advisory Board. The names are listed below.
The Palladium Board is made up of:
- Paolo Catalfamo, founder of Investar and chairman of the GlobalCapital plc
- Rahul Sood, former CEO of Microsoft Ventures and founder of Unikrn
- Gregory McGowan, Director of several Franklin Templeton companies
- Joseph Del Raso, partner at Pepper Hamilton and former attorney at the US Securities Exchange Commission
- Brian Jamieson, co-founder and CEO of CenttripLimited, a multi-award winning FCA regulated financial technology company based in London
The Advisory Board is made up of:
- Carl Schramm, former President of the Kauffman Foundation.
- Karl Flores, co-founder of Unikrn
- Simon Davies, founder and CEO of Krowd9, founder of Snaptu
- Andrea Negri, former managing director of Credit Suisse
- Abdalla Kablan, entrepreneur, academic, and expert in Computational Finance and Big Data Analytics
- Alex Fedosseev, serial entrepreneur, high-tech executive, inventor with a focus on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
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