nikrn announced its initial coin offering (ICO) to not only finance its esports betting platform, but also to bypass banking institutions.
Earlier this year, Unikrn unveiled a partnership with Betgenius to expand their live betting platform into esports. During that time, the firm outlined its initial coin offering (ICO) not only to help finance its esports betting platform, but also to bypass banking institutions in regions where its current Unikoin currency is not licensed.
“The problem when you’re dealing with banks is that none of these guys are easy to work with,” commented Rahul Sood, Unikrn’s co-founder and CEO, to Reuters news agency. “You’re dealing with 20 different currencies, you’re dealing across borders. There’s no other reason to go this route other than to circumvent banking.”
The currency, known as UnikoinGold, will be another in a list of ICO’s – also known as “token sales” – that have become the new funding trend by startups. The esports space itself has numerous ongoing token sales, with sellers including NEVERDIE, Skincoin and Monster Byte Inc.
The esports betting company has already raised around $10 million from early fundraising, with some of its biggest investors including Mark Cuban and Ashton Kutcher.
The goal of the ICO is to fund a project by pre-selling tokens to customers, who will then have access to an ethereum-backed currency once the platform goes live officially. With a centralized currency, transactions become easier, and there’s an added benefit of facilitating betting in regions where games of chance are more tightly regulated. In the U.S., there are currently no regulations against betting with Bitcoin, since it does not go directly through a banking institution. However, quite recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that regulation may soon be on its way for these currencies.
According to a report from Reuters, Unikrn’s token sale will be capped at $100 million. “If [there is no cap], it’s going to go crazy,” said Rood. Unikrn has already raised around $10 million from early fundraising. Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, actor Ashton Kutcher, and Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Fox News owner Robert Murdoch, are among Unikrn’s most well known investors.
