Initial Exchange Offering (IEO)? What's This?

Keeping up with the newest and most up-to-date ways to raise capital requires making sure you are "alphabet current." By now everyone has heard of (good and bad) an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), a STO (Security Token Offering), an IPO (ancient.... Initial Public Offering) and now.........an IEO (Initial Exchange Offering). Always one step ahead of the evil regulators (who are still trying to spell ICO) this new way to raise capital combines the best of a STO AND an IPO. The IEO, although just being 'tested,' looks to be a game changer. More in-depth details below.

(Bill Taylor/Fintek Capital)

"China’s late 2017 ICO ban left crypto startups in the country trying to find alternative solutions to raise funds for their projects. Projects started to discover the new trend of Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs). This innovation allowed them to perform their fundraising with no fear of the law or the authorities.

What is an IEO?

An Initial Exchange Offering, as its name suggests, is conducted on the platform of a cryptocurrency exchange. Contrary to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), an IEO is administered by a crypto exchange on behalf of the startup that seeks to raise funds with its newly issued tokens.

As the token sale is conducted on the exchange’s platform, token issuers have to pay a listing fee along with a percentage of the tokens sold during the IEO. In return, the tokens of the crypto startups are sold on the exchange’s platforms, and their coins are listed after the IEO is over. As the cryptocurrency exchange takes a percentage of the tokens sold by the startup, the exchange is incentivized to help with the token issuer’s marketing operations.

IEO participants do not send contributions to a smart contract, such as governs an ICO. Instead, they have to create an account on the exchange’s platform where the IEO is conducted. The contributors then fund their exchange wallets with coins and use those funds to buy the fundraising company’s tokens..."