Thought Leaders
Top 5 Security Tokens to Invest In – Opinion
Below are the top 5 security tokens which I personally believe have the most potential for liquidity and future growth. As a disclaimer, I’m a token holder in all the investments listed below. No financial compensation was given for this article. This is based exclusively on my personal opinion.
#5 – Lottery.com
This was one of the earliest STOs in the space. The vision is to raise billions of dollars to help solve the most pressing humanitarian needs across the globe using global charitable raffles. They offer token holders 7% revenue share on all ticket sales.
Some of the notable investors behind this project include:
- Pantera Capital – Joey Krug (co-chief Investment officer).
- Paraag Marathe (Chief Strategy Officer EVP, SF 49rs).
- Bruce Gibney (Founders Fund, seed investor of PayPal).
What’s impressive with this project is the current progress that they have made which includes:
- The world’s largest lottery results and information provider to the digital media sector for U.S. and North American lottery games, including Google and Amazon Alexa.
- Provider of lottery results in more than 30 countries worldwide.
- In the US Lottery.com is a premier mobile lottery play service with multiple state approvals.
This token can be purchased on the OpenFinance platform.
#4 – tZERO
tZERO is working on building a regulated exchange for trading security tokens and digital securities. They are taking their time on developing this platform as they wish to ensure that they are fully legally compliant. Think of tZERO as the Binance of regulated security tokens.
If they succeed in their stated mission, they will become a market leader in the digital securities space. Being fully regulated institutional investors and banks will be able to use this platform for all their exchange needs.
We have reported on tZERO frequently including the painful due diligence process which is slowing the launch of the platform. Being fully legally compliant is a positive thing, and we prefer that they take things slow to ensure full compliance and legality.
This token can be purchased directly on the tZERO platform.
#3 – 22x Fund
22X Fund invested in 30 pre-vetted start-ups that were part of Batch 22 of the 500 Startups early-stage venture fund and seed accelerator program. 500 Startups have invested in over 1200 companies, some of these notable investments include Udemy, Visual.ly, Canva, Twilio, talkdesk, & ipsy.
All 22X Fund companies are part of Batch 22 from 500 Startups which took place in San Francisco in summer/fall of 2017. The 500 Startups Accelerator has a ~2% acceptance rate. The majority have raised previous funding and are revenue generating.
Batch22 focuses on FinTech (9 companies), Data (7 companies), and Digital Health (4 companies). The list can be found here.
Investors receive tokens in 22X which will own between 2.5% to 10% of the equity in each 22X portfolio company.
This token can be purchased on the OpenFinance platform.
#2 – Blockchain Capital
This was the initial security token that started the revolution. BCAP tokens represent tokens in a venture fund managed by Blockchain Capital.
Blockchain Capital really needs no introduction when it comes to blockchain. They were founded in 2013 and have such notable investments as ABRA, Augur, Bancor, BitFuty, BitGo, Block.one, BlockStream, Coinbase, Ethereum, Harbor, Kraken, Ripple, Securitize, & Templum.
The BCAP token was launched in April 2017 and raised $10M in six hours.
In June, 2019 Coinbase Custody announced support for the BCAP token. The importance of this news cannot be understated, as this is the first security token to be supported by Coinbase.
This token can be purchased on the OpenFinance platform.
#1 – SpiceVC
My personal favorite is SpiceVC and this token is managed by an experienced team that are heavily involved in the digital securities space. They are investing in the future of security tokens and digital securities. Their most notable investment is in Securitize. Securitize is the token issuer that has shown the most traction when it comes to tokenizing security tokens. They have directly tokenized, or offered tokenization services to the bulk of the companies on this list.
Other notable investments by SpiceVC include:
- SAGA – An upcoming stable currency
- Slice – The tokenization of real estate
- ROX – Tokenization of commercial real estate.
- Archax – A digital securities exchange to be launched in London, UK.
- Lottery.com – An online lottery security token.
- Bakkt – A digital assets security exchange company created by ICE, the owners of the New York Stock Exchange. Bakkt is one of the most anticipated exchanges in the cryptocurrency space and has the potential to bring in institutional grade investments into Bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
This token can be purchased on the OpenFinance platform.
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A new ship finance platform by the name of New Shore Invest seeks to integrate blockchain technology into the sector. The firm will utilize the tech to create and issue equity-based limited partnership shares. The new strategy opens up the international shipping market to investors globally. Additionally, the move showcases the disruptive qualities that blockchain technology provides.
New Shore Invest’s fractional ownership will launch in Germany in Q1 2020. The firm intends to allow all retail investors to participate in the program which is loosely based on the outdated German KG model. The German KG financing model was popular in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, the system became obsolete following the 2008 financial crisis in which financing firms tightened their requirements significantly.
Discussing the revival strategy, Hanno Tamminga, founder of New Shore Invest, spoke on the importance of digitalizing the market. He explained how tokenization is important to ship owners because it provides them with access to fresh equity that was previously unavailable.
He wasn’t the only founder to praise the maneuver. Hannes Hollaender, co-founder and partner of New Shore took a second to discuss the firm’s plans moving forward. He explained that in order to excite investors, his company needed to find a strategy that was both “green and innovative.” He also described how the new system will fill the current gap of equity for shipowners.
KG shares
For its part, New Shore facilitates and structures limited partnership shares of single ship companies. These security tokens utilize advanced smart contracts. In this manner, all its rights and obligations according to the articles of association are directly integrated within the token’s protocol.
New Shore Invest via Homepage
Importantly, these tokens are to be ERC-1400 compliant. Basically, they will live on the Ethereum blockchain. The decision to utilize the ERC standard was a smart one on the part of New Shore Invest. For one, Ethereum’s ERC standards are by far the most popular tokenization option in the market. As such, they offer a variety of interoperability not found within other token types.
New Shore Invest STO
New Shore Invest’s strategy will break each tokenized ship company down and offer the shares to investors via STOs. This strategy is far more efficient than the original German KG model. Also. it provides a cost-efficient, secure, and faster alternative to the current business practices in the sector. For example, investors can purchase online and it only takes minutes to complete a transaction. Best of all, there are no fees for investors who participate.
New Shore Investors
According to company documents, all investors receive dividends based on the number of tokens they hold. Additionally, investors receive a profit share of any vessels sold. Finally, investors gain a handful of new liquidity as the new shares are able to be traded and transferred in a secondary market.
NorthCape Capital
The Oslo-based venture capital firm, NorthCape Capital was the main financier for the project. The company is no stranger to the sector. To date, NorthCape arranged and structured $ 18 billion of lease financing. Importantly, this financing was spread across both the maritime and aviation sectors
Time to Check Out the New Shore
Given the experience and large network, the New Shore platform incorporates, its no surprise to see this team succeed. The concept of tokenizing ship ownership puts a new age twist on one of the oldest financial services available. You can expect to see this firm expand its strategy into other areas of transport as the company begins to reap the benefits of its unique business model.
The security token issuance platform, Securitize achieved a major milestone for the entire security token community this week. The firm successfully enabled the very first-ever investment into a security token offering (STO) from an individual retirement account (IRA). The news demonstrates further security token adoption by traditional investment firms and a desire by more investors to participate in this expanding sector of finance.
Discussing the important milestone, Carlos Domingo, Co-Founder, and CEO at Securitize explained the overall excitement surrounding the project. He spoke of the importance of facilitating direct IRA investments to open the market. Domingo described how the new strategy provides millions of investors with direct access to new capital connected to the Securitize platform. He also took a moment to touch on what the developments meant for other digital securities issuers.
AltoIRA
In order to make this revolutionary concept a reality, Securitize created a strategic partnership with the alternative investment firm – AltoIRA. The firm directly integrating Securitize’s DS Protocol in order to automate the entire process. In this manner, interested parties can directly invest their IRA savings into alternative assets such as security tokens. Notably, the new system is far more cost-effective than traditional IRA investment methods.
Discussing the maneuver, Eric Satz, CEO at AltoIRA explained how “thrilled” his company was to be a part of the first-ever direct investment into digital securities via an IRA. He hopes that the integrations will help investors achieve a truly diversified portfolio moving forward. Lastly, he spoke on the limited market exposure security tokens received to date. Currently, around only 2% of all alternative assets are held within retirement funds such as IRAs and 401ks.
AltoIRA via Homepage – Securitize
Part of the reason for this lackluster market penetration is that traditional custodians lack the digital infrastructure to participate in these new markets. Now, AltoIRA users can enjoy access to tokenized private equity, venture capital, and real estate. Also, these users can now invest directly into cryptocurrency from their retirement accounts as well.
CityBlock Capital
For its part, AltoIRA chose to provide investors with access to the CityBlock Capital fund. The venture capital firm CityBlock Capital is best known for its flagship private fund. The fund has a focus on blockchain startups with the overall goal to simplify access to tokenized finance and digital asset trading.
Robert Nance, Managing Partner at CityBlock Capital explained why they choose to utilize the Securitize platform over the competition. He stated that Securitize is a leading solutions provider in the industry. He also spoke on the ability to unlock untapped liquidity via the use of blockchain technology.
Securitize Your Future
Securitize continues to expand the functionality of the entire blockchain sector. You can expect this latest venture to speed up security token adoption in a major way. Now IRA investors have new opportunities to participate in the new age economy as it develops.
After a sizable delay and numerous run-ins with NBA executives, it now appears that Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie will get to bring his tokenization strategy to the market. Dinwiddie took serious heat from the league when he announced plans to tokenize a portion of his contract. Now, after almost three months of delays, Dinwiddie’s token-based investment tool prepares to enter the market.
DREAM Fan Shares
Dinwiddie wants to let his fans own a portion of his contract via the DREAM fan shares platform. This blockchain-based tokenization strategy would allow Dinwiddie to digitize a portion of his contract. These tokenized shares would then be made available to fans seeking to increase their stake in the athlete’s career.
According to Dinwiddie, DREAM shares are set for a January 13th launch date. The date will coincide with Dinwiddie’s first career All-Star Game. In this manner, Dinwiddie can couple the publicity to further promote his unique tokenization strategy.
As part of this strategy, Dinwiddie seeks to sell 90 SD8 coins. Each coin represents a tokenized share in his $34 million contract. If successful, Dinwiddie will be able to collect up to $13.5 million of his guaranteed three-year agreement without having to wait until the final years of the contract. In essence, the agreement provides him with a new age business loan.
NBA Officials not Pleased
For their part, the NBA has been unapathetic towards the young player’s decision to tokenize his contract. These disagreements with the NBA came to a head when the league threatened to terminate his contract and ban him from the league during negotiations. Luckily, Dinwiddie instituted some changes to his strategy which alleviated much of the league’s concerns.
One of the main problems the NBA had with Dinwiddie’s original strategy had to do with his final years. In the original agreement, Dinwiddie wanted to provide his investors with a chance to make larger dividends if he were to acquire a more lucrative contract with Brooklyn or another team. This section struck NBA officials as problematic with some calling it gambling. Officials were so concerned they threatened to terminate his contract if the clause wasn’t removed.
Dinwiddie to Tokenize Contract
After four intense negotiations in person and three additional correspondences over the phone, Spencer Dinwiddie was able to secure league approval for his concept. Discussing the decision, he admitted that he never expected the league to support his idea fully. Luckily, he had some strong support for the plan from the Players Association. Also, he had a team of lawyers by his side to ensure that his rights were not violated.
Dinwiddie Just Changed the Game Forever
It’s not too often that a single player changes the game forever, but in this instance, Dinwiddie has utilized blockchain technology to provide more liquidity in the market. You can expect to see DREAM shares start to tokenize more athletes and entertainers’ contracts in the coming months. In this way, these individuals can cash out their multi-million dollar agreements without waiting years to do so.