Initial Exchange Offering (IEO): Crypto exchanges OKEx, KuCoin announce fundraising platforms

Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has announced its plans to launch a new initial exchange offering (IEO) platform.

Dubbed “OK Jumpstart,” the platform aims to incubate high-potential projects and support early entrepreneurs.

In its official release, OKEx said that it believes that the IEO model is an ideal method for high-quality projects and early entrepreneurs to kick-start. It will help them save time and resources for getting listed on exchanges and enable them to focus on project development and community management.

The company said that it conducted a comprehensive evaluation of related regulations worldwide and came up with “OK Jumpstart" as a compliant IEO platform.

"We are happy to launch 'OK Jumpstart' as our own IEO platform. I believe the IEO model will bring considerable advantages to both the exchange and project developers, particularly start-ups can conduct their launching process easier and more streamlined," said Andy Cheung, Head of Operations of OKEx. "In view of the demand for IEO growing so fast, 2019 will be the year of IEO, and we expect to see more innovative projects be hatched from this platform."

Similar to the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), IEO allows selling tokens to finance early-stage projects. However, a key difference between the two models is that in the case of IEO both the project developer and the investors facilitate their transactions through a third party – a reliable exchange. The exchange acts as a guarantor and conducts a project due diligence check on the project team.

This week, another digital asset trading platform, Bittrex, announced that it will host the upcoming IEO of international gaming data blockchain project RAID’s XRD token. The offering marks the first IEO to be hosted on the Bittrex International Platform.

KuCoin has also announced a similar initiative, called “Spotlight,” which CEO Michael Gan described as “a launch platform for hidden gems in blockchain that have real potential and value.”

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, can be said to have spearheaded this space with Binance Launchpad, its exclusive token sale platform. BitTorrent (BTT) was the first project to be launched on the platform and successfully raised $7 million in under 20 minutes.