Knowbella Tech, a scientific collaboration company, has intends to conduct a $50m Regulation A+ securities offering in the United States.
The company said it is looking to file an offering statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making it one of the first to file an Initial Coin Offering to the regulator.
“Until now no initial coin offering, or ICO, has raised capital through Regulation A+ (Reg A+),” says Mark Pohlkamp, CEO. “Knowbella Tech aims to be among the first to make history with a transparent and compliant Tier 2 Reg. A+ offering.”
The net proceeds of this offering will be used primarily to launch a blockchain-enabled open science collaboration platform. Scientists will be rewarded Helix, “The Currency of Science” tokens resulting from the ICO for conducting research on the Knowbella Tech platform.
Knowbella Tech plans to utilize Reg.A+ to make its Helix tokens available to anyone interested in participating in the venture, not just accredited investors.
“Reg. A+ allows us to advertise and reach out to everyone who may have an interest in our scientific platform and business,” Pohlkamp said. “It is similar to a pre-sale or perk crowdfunding campaign offered on platforms like Kickstarter® or Indiegogo®, but also allows us to offer participants equity in our Company in the form of Helix tokens, similar to cryptocurrencies.”
Reg. A+ allows issuers to raise up to $50m in a 12-month period. The investors are not required to be accredited, but must receive an offering circular that has been qualified by the SEC. The company said that it plans to “test the waters” to gauge market demand for its proposed Reg. A+ offering prior to qualification of its offering statement by the SEC.
Earlier this month, The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said it intends to regulate some ICOs either under anti-money laundering laws or as securities. Having seen a sharp increase in the number of initial coin offerings (ICOs) planned or executed in Switzerland, FINMA is publishing guidelines, which complement its earlier FINMA Guidance 04/2017, setting out how it intends to treat enquiries from ICO organisers.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
