Did you feel that?
No, it wasn’t another earthquake.
But, it was certainly groundbreaking.
I am referring, of course, to Blockstack’s Reg A+ Token Offering.
On July 12, 2019, Blockstack broke new ground by becoming the first company in history to receive approval from the SEC for a public securities offering whereby its investors would receive “tokens” – called Stacks (STX) – in the company as opposed to traditional “shares.”
These security tokens do not represent an equity stake in the company. Instead, they will used by investors as a medium of exchange for apps, services, and name registrations on the Blockstack network – setting a new course for companies to create a security out of a digital asset known as a utility token.
Blockstack’s offering closed with the company having raised a total of $23 million from more than 4,500 individuals and entities including includes Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, Recruit Holdings,1 Arrington Capital, Hashkey Group, Fenbushi Capital, Frontier Ventures and Spartan Group.
According to its Edgar filing, Blockstack raised $15.5 million of the $23 million through its Reg A+ sale in the U.S. and another $7.6 million through its Reg S offering in Asia.
At first glance, the offering closed $5 million shy of the $28 million approved for sale by the SEC. However, Blockstack co-founder Muneeb Ali revealed that the company was also in discussions with international investors for an additional $5M+, which may be distributed in a separate private placement or in a follow-on SEC-qualified offering.
According to public reports, Blockstack management spent ten months and approximately $2 million to gain SEC approval and essentially create this new regulatory roadmap for public token offerings.