Cryptocurrency and security token exchange INX has shifted its sights for a planned initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S.
The Gibraltar-based trading group filed an F-1 Form – a securities registration for non-U.S. issuers – with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday. Originally slated for Q2 2020, the sale is now expected to take place next year.
Per the filing, INX will offer 130 million INX tokens at $0.90 each, putting the maximum raise at $117 million, which could make it the largest IPO in the digital asset industry to date. That’s down from the previous prospectus, filed in March, where the company hoped to raise $130 million by selling tokens at $1 apiece.
The maximum target, if achieved, would still be $27 million more than mining chip manufacturer Canaan raised in November 2019.
Investors will be able to purchase INX tokens with cryptocurrencies as well as the U.S. dollar. INX will accept commits made in the stablecoin USDC, bitcoin and ether – but only if the sale exceeds the minimum $7.5 million raise amount.
Although it won’t be the first IPO to accept cryptocurrencies, it will be the largest offering yet to do so.
INX is a cryptocurrency and security token exchange hopeful that seeks to operate in the U.S. It’s been trying to register with the SEC for more than two years so it can offer a regulatory-compliant sale and first registered with the chief securities watchdog last summer.
The firm’s executive managing director, Alan Silbert, is the brother of Barry Silbert, the founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group, CoinDesk’s parent company.
A series of other crypto companies are making plans to become publicly tradeable. Last week, a Hong Kong-based crypto derivatives exchange said it would begin trading on the Nasdaq via a reverse listing in Q3. Coinbase is said to be considering a direct listing in the U.S. next year.
With INX being an ERC-20 token, investors will need an Ethereum wallet address to participate in the sale. The exchange said in the latest filing it will not send tokens to Ethereum wallets based on the platforms of possible rival exchanges, including Coinbase. Bitrexx, Jaxx, Poloniex, Kraken, Bitfinex, Cex.io, Bitstamp and others are also excluded.
INX tokens can be used against transaction fees and confer holders the right to receive 40% of cumulative net cash flow on an annual basis once the platform makes more than it spends. Tokens don’t confer ownership of the company themselves.
However, token holders may be unlikely to earn much in the first year. In the filing, INX says it hasn’t actually made any revenue since its 2017 launch and made a $3.7 million loss in 2019.
Indeed, the IPO funds will actually go towards launching the digital trading platform that INX says will mean it can finally earn revenue. It estimates the platform could launch within 12 months of the minimum raise being reached.
Passing the minimum raise will allow INX to further develop the platform, develop a new Cash Fund that can be used to cover both company and customer losses, and apply for a U.S. broker-dealer license. The company can already operate as a money transmitter in seven U.S. states, including California.
The prospectus highlights that INX has received support from high-profile industry figures. Riccardo Spagni, Monero’s former lead maintainer and public face, owns 7.5% of the company (just under a million dollars’ worth) and Litecoin creator Charlie Lee owns $100,000 worth of ordinary INX shares.
INX said in its previous prospectus it would apply for a New York BitLicense, although this isn’t explicitly mentioned in Monday’s filing. The company still plans to move its headquarters from Gibraltar to New York at a future, undisclosed date.
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