If you're around in crypto for more than a year, then you may remember a project called IPFS (Interplanetary File System Protocol). It was meant as a distributed data storage solution on top of blockchain and, at that time it was considered revolutionary. On top of that storage solutions there was also a token, called Filecoin. The development of the protocol went ahead quite well and IPFS is now used in a variety of products (among others, AKASHA).
But the Filecoin white paper and distribution was lagging behind.
Well, not anymore.
According to the newly updated site at filecoin.io the token sale will kick off on August 7th. But what sets apart this ICO from others is the requirements for investments. In order to participate, you have to be accredited as an investor, a process which is managed by angel.co (yes, that angel list). In other words, you can't invest if you're not verified as an investor before that, which basically means you have to prove you have at least $1,200,000 in assets, or more than that in revenue.
I don't know if this move is made as a compliance effort for recent SEC's regulations, or it's just their way of selecting their investors, but I like it. Yes, it raises the bar a lot and not everybody would be able to invest, but at least they'll know that whoever dares to join, is both loaded and experienced, as an investor.
For more details, please visit Filecoin.io.
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
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Damn! I just missed out on the threshold.
I only need another $1,199,999 to make it. Can anyone spot me cash until payday? :-)
This is one of the things that I hated, hated, hated while growing up and reading about investing. They want you to own 1,200,000 USD in assets and be certified by some authority in the US! :(
And this has been, of course, one of the things that I loved about cryptocurrency and ICOs. It is permissionless, you can participate if you want. There's nobody stopping you, no authority, no regulation.
Filecoin? No, thank you. They can keep their damn tokens for themselves.
Totally agree with you. This is very similar to early stage start up investments :(
Thanks for the info! But why do you like the fact that you need to be accredited as an investor? This move is just a step to regulation, and makes poorer people that are willing to support great projects unable to. It also guarantees the rich get ricer.
Isn't the philosophy behind blockchain crypto that it's decentralised and no entry needed? I don't know, this kind of defeats the purpose.
Nonetheless, thanks for informing us!
I think there's a very thin balance between regulation as a tool for keeping scammers at distance and regulation as a tool for keeping people in herds, like sheep. In this case, I don't think this is a very good move for Filecoin. There is already some serious competition: Storj or Sia to name just a few.
I'm not versed in the cryptosphere si I do not know about those options you point out. And I don't think some regulation is necessarily bad. But what is asked here is just a barrier that prevents any kind of input from the majority of the world.
You seem to agree in this comment, but in the article you claim you like it. That drove me to write that comment. I'm now assuming it was a typo. :)
Thanks for letting us know.
Ok, I won't participate :)
The whole ICO process needs a positive change. While regulation eliminates simple people from investing, having some ICO's that have certain requirements will only improve prestige of the process and also prevent from possible speculation bubble. I would not want all ICO's prohibit me from investing if i have made such a decision though, as again rich become richer and the loop closes once again. And the only requirement of having huge amounts of assets does not seem fair. being able to put up a fund does not mean that your investments are reasonable or guaranteed in profit. As we already can see what a low success rate there is in traditional startups.
Thanks so much for this update. It's good to know they are limiting the requirements to those who can take the financial risk. However, the requirements for being an accredited investor typically has to deal with income or net worth not necessarily investor experience or skill.
Hmm... it's cool to see that they are taking the ICO bubble issue seriously by having those requirements. But it's a bit shitty to require more than a million in assets to be a participant.
Thank you for sharing @dragosroua
This post is awesome!!!!
But 1.2million dollars is a lot of money. Do you think this is a good thing? Alot of people do not have that but they would love to be part of it. I thought one of the pros of cryptocurrency is financial inclusion.
So make the rich richer ? :)
nice mr.dragosroua. upvote me
Can filecoin replace cloud
Thanks for this update and telling about this i had really no idea about this so its good to know from you about the crypto world happenings :)