Digital encryption startup Securosys is planning an unconventional initial coin offering, finews.asia has learned. The fintech firm is combining the new fundraising style with elements of securities law.
Zurich-based fintech Securosys won a huge client in 2015, one year after its founding: SIX interbank clearing. Since then, practically every Swiss bank is at least indirectly a client of the digital encryption firm, CEO Robert Rogenmoser told finews.asia.
Digital safety represents a huge growth market in the increasingly electronic world of high finance. Securosys, which has been profitable for two years, is now taking aim at the booming cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
Over $100 Billion Daily
The firm's furious start is only the beginning, according to Rogenmoser, who founded the hardware and software firm together with Andreas Curiger. The two aim for Securosys' encryption technology for digital assets and data traffic to become meaningful outside of Switzerland as well.
The firm's speciality is SIC payments (Swiss Interbank Clearing, or those supervised by Switzerland's central bank). The system allows banks to carry out their daily interbank transactions in real-time, globally. The roughly $100 billion in transactions are secured with Securosys encryption technology every day.
Tokens = Share
To expand into the crypto world, Securosys needs an injection of as much as 16 million Swiss francs ($16.1 million) – funds that Rogenmoser and his team want to hoover up via an initial coin offering. To be sure, the firm's target is dwarfed by other big ICOs – Eos just raised $4 billion last month, and Switzerland's largest ICO, Tezos, raised $232 million last year.
Securosys' offering also contains a further, rather conservative element: the firm has already approved 16 million francs in conditional capital. ICO participants will receive a token; 100 tokens translate into one Securosys share.
Voting Rights Capped
Rogenmoser said he is convinced Securosys can win a range of investors with the plan. «It was clear to us from an early stage that our token investors would have dividend rights as well as be able to convert tokens into stock», he told finews.com. In short, the ICO hews to Swiss law – almost like a traditional securities issue.
If successful, up to 25 percent of Securosys will end up in public hands, but the company plans to cap voting rights to those holding more than 50,000 tokens. The startup plans participation shares for the remainder of its investors.
Lykke Spinoff for ICO
Rogenmoser admits that a traditional securities issue would be easier, but argues that the planned ICO is aimed at its target client segment. «On the one hand, this 'true entrepreneur' model makes is even easier to convert a good idea and a bit of determination into something spectacular», the CEO said. «On the other hand, we're doing the ICO to raise our profile in the crypto and blockchain industry.»
Swiss venture firm Blockchain Valley will carry out the token offering. The firm was carved out of Lykke, a trading platform for cryptocurrencies which counts former UBS information technology boss Oliver Bussmann among its backers.
Next Stop: Europe
Rogenmoser said he doesn't have a road map for the ICO, but wants to begin speaking to potential investors over a «private sale» shortly, then open up to «pre-sale» as well as «crowd sale» buyers.
The firm has already begun its international expansion: Securosys plans a subsidiary in Germany, which is meant to ensure access to the key European market.
