Decentralized marketplace startup Origin Protocol is looking to expand its audience, as well as raise more capital, through a compliant token sale.
Announced Monday in a press release, Origin has set a target of $6.6 million for the offering, with SEC-registered CoinList Capital acting as its investment adviser and issuing platform.
Origin co-founder Josh Fraser said that, more important than the money, will be the opportunity to grow its network with endorsement from CoinList, an AngelList spin-off. The startup wants "as many people to participate as possible," he told CoinDesk.
Fraser continued:
"There's so many scammy projects out there, so anything you can do to set yourself apart is [great] … We're really excited for a chance to work with CoinList and to be able to be the recipient of a very anticipated sale. If you look in our Telegram, you see people asking every single day to be a part."
That being said, only accredited investors will be able to buy into Origin on CoinList's platform at the moment. The co-founder explained that "while not everyone can participate yet, it goes a long way to allowing more people to participate."
Origin will use the funds to further flesh out its blockchain. And while it isn't in urgent need of new funds – having already raised $28 million in a SAFT sale and $3 million in a prior venture capital round – the startup still intends to make good use of the sale proceeds, according to Fraser.
"We're going to continue building as we said we're going to do, and we're on schedule to launch [in the third quarter] like we said we would," he said.
Fraser noted that the fundamental question the company is asking is whether open-source protocols could replace "not one, not two, but dozens of major companies."
"We're creating a platform for sharing economy type marketplaces ... looking at how you can build decentralized Uber, decentralized AirBNB – these marketplaces where we can use a blockchain to create peer-to-peer marketplaces rather than using giant corporations and monopolies," he said.
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