Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Blockchain and Alternative Sources of Financing

2019; Springer Nature; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-3-030-30738-7_6

2197-716X

Othalia Doe-Bruce,

FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital Finance

For the past decade, Bitcoin has captured the attention of the world with its extreme price swings and yet constant price rises, outperforming most traditional asset classes. Along with Bitcoin came the phenomenon of the ICOs or Token Offerings, equally captivating, that turned start-ups’ founders into overnight millionaires. For the first time, start-ups with a compelling vision, no longer needed to plead their case, by pitching to multiple stone faced VCs, all so they could raise a few hundred grants. Start-ups could now pitch to the world and raise millions in a matter of minutes. Prompting the CEO of one such start-ups that raised USD25 million and based in Toronto, Canada, to say: “The crypto world is not real, it is a dream”. In this chapter, we will explore the various alternative sources of financing such as ICOs, STOs and IEOs that came along with the Bitcoin, their implications and what we can expect going forward.