“This year FinanceMalta already organized two BlockFinance events in Malta, with the first one discussing the application of distributed ledger technology (DLT), and another one on the AML [anti-money laundering] challenges relating to such innovative technologies. This time around we are putting the spotlight on STOs and the various aspects of this investment tool,” said Ivan Grech, Chief Operations Officer at FinanceMalta.

An STO is very similar to an initial coin offering (ICO): they are essentially tools used by blockchain and DLT startups for attracting funding for their ventures. In the case of ICOs, cryptocurrencies are offered, while in the case STOs, tokens are provided in exchange for investment.

Tokens differ from coins in that they fall under the status of securities. They are linked to an underlying investment asset in a way like stocks, bonds, real estate investment trusts (REIT) or other funds.

The BlockFinance event will cover various topics such as understanding STOs and the future of investing via new tokenised business models, the compliance element of STOs, as well as the opportunities, challenges and solutions in adopting STOs.

A key topic of the event will be the Malta Financial Services Authority’s (MFSA) consultation and feedback on STOs and the way forward as a result of this. One key presentation will focus on the advantages that blockchain technology applied to Corporate Governance could bring to companies in Malta, in particular with respect to the automation of tasks, documents and validations of legally binding actions.

FinanceMalta is a non-profit public-private initiative aiming to promote Malta as an international business and financial centre internationally. “It brings together and harnesses the resources of the industry and government, to ensure Malta maintains a modern and effective legal, regulatory and fiscal framework in which the financial services sector can continue to grow and prosper,” the press statement by FinanceMalta says.

The post FinanceMalta organises BlockFinance breakfast first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

OKEx has been researching different token launch methods since the establishment of their OKNodes platform in July 2018. The company believes that the IEO model is an ideal method for kick-starting high-quality projects and early entrepreneurs.

OKEx says that their recently -announced compliant platform would allow its users to save the time and resources for getting listed on exchanges. The company adds that project teams will be able to focus on project development and community management more.

“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 more comfortable and more streamlined,” says Andy Cheung, Head of Operations at OKEx. “Given 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.”

OKEx has not yet clarified the date of launching the platform more than the “soonest possible”. The company promised to post further details about OK Jumpstart “shortly”.

OKEx earlier announced that it would be launching the British pound (GBP) and the Thai baht (THB) as two new currencies available for trade on its over-the-counter (OTC) platform, as reported by Business Malta.

An IEO is similar to an initial coin offering (ICO), as both allow selling tokens to finance early-stage projects. However, the critical difference is that in the case of an IEO, both the project developer and the investors facilitate their transactions through a third party — i.e. an exchange. Ideally, such an exchange should act as a guarantor and conducts a project with due diligence check on the project team. Having IEO to streamline the process, developers are no longer required to perform so-called know your customer (KYC) verifications.

OKEx is a digital asset exchange headquartered in Malta, offering digital assets trading services including token trading, futures trading, perpetual swap trading and index tracker to global traders with blockchain technology. Currently, the exchange provides over 400 tokens. The platform says it serves millions of customers from over 200 countries and regions.

The post OKEx to launch IEO platform first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.