Blockchain-powered ICONOMI raises $5.8m in crowdsale

Ethereum-based Fund management platform ICONOMI has raised approximately $5.8m in equity and operational capital through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Developed by the team at Cashila, ICONOMI is creating a decentralised alternative to the multi-billion dollar fund management industry.

ICOs and appcoins are all the rage these days. According to CoinMarketCap.com, total existing cryptocurrencies are now valued at over $12bn, rising from $7bn at the beginning of this year.

ICONOMI's extraordinary potential has led more than 2,270 investors to raise more than $5.8 million thus far. In 31 days, ICONOMI has become the 20<sup>th most highly capitalised crowdfunding project to date, said a statement.

The ICO closes on 29 September 2016. At its close, ICO token holders will exercise 100% ownership of ICONOMI. Backers of the ICO will be issued 'ICN' tokens that function as equity shares in a new type of fund management platform specifically focused on blockchain, the fastest growing sector in finance.

ICONOMI said it will provide the foundation, infrastructure, and guidelines for funds offered on their platform, with varying levels of expected yield and risk profiles. The first ICONOMI funds were revealed last week at Ethereum's Devcon2 in Shanghai.

These are: ICONOMI.INDEX, an index investment fund comprised of a basket of popular cryptocurrencies that minimises volatility, and ICONOMI.PERFORMANCE, an actively managed fund targeting higher yields and run by credentialed, expert traders.

The ICONOMI Cryptocurrencies Index (ICNX) is now available for investor review, and both funds are expected to launch in Q4 2016. Additional custom funds created by prominent traders will be available in 2017.

ICONOMI investors will be able to easily withdraw or liquidate their holdings at any time, 24/7, through the sale of ICONOMI tokens on major exchanges. All fiat funds are held at a regulated, insured, major bank and all cryptocurrencies are held by trusted escrow partners with multisig wallets, said a statement.

Asset security is paramount for ICONOMI developers, who have instituted state-of-the-art practices including a unique ICONOMI hardware random key generator, the extensive use of encryption, and multifactor authentication for withdrawals.

ICONOMI token owners, or shareholders, will earn weekly profit dividends in the form of ETH as soon as ICONOMI funds are launched. Dividends will come from the trading fees of investment funds under the management of ICONOMI and from the fees of investment funds of independent traders, listed on the ICONOMI fund management platform and in accordance with the fee split schedule.

Investors with fiat currencies purchasing tokens in ICONOMI's ICO are subject to EU-wide AML/KYC compliance standards requiring supplementary verification for additional tiers of investment.

Tim M. Zagar, co-founder and Director of Operations & Business, said: "ICONOMI's success is proving that the idea of 'uberization' is best for far more than consumer-level services. There is tremendous demand for a platform like ICONOMI to cut out the middleman, lowering the barrier to entry for investment into cryptocurrencies."

Jani Valjavec, co-founder and Director of Technology & Trading, added, "What we're seeing is that crowdfunding will be considered an option for capital raise in all sectors, even in industries as sophisticated as financial technology. With this funding, ICONOMI will have the resources to begin the inevitable disruption of finance."