Whenever talking about the cryptocurrency world and startups in the industry, we have to refer to ICOs. They are the flagship of blockchain technology based crypto companies but they are under strict scrutiny from the authorities. This is because of the appearance of many ICO scams. Investors did take notice and they look for alternative methods. Even so, nobody can deny that fundraising models are highly successful.
The OPO (Online Public Offering) Alternative
OPOs are now visible on various reputable websites like SeedVest, WeFunder and StartEngine. They are seen as a top option for crowdfunding vehicles for companies that use blockchain technology. That is especially correct in locations like USA since the regulation that is necessary to start an ICO is really difficult to go through without access to infinite resources.
OPO has existed as a viable model for a long time now but investors are mostly still not aware of this. That is because of the buzz that was created around ICO. Nobody can deny the fact that so many ICOs turn out to be common scams. In Russia for instance, around 50% of the 2017 ICO funds launched were just pyramid schemes.
There are now different blockchains that work really hard to create legitimate products and they rely on OPO to run a legitimate, successful and regulated fundraising campaign.
Examples Of OPO Success
There are different examples that can be given for those looking for OPO success. Unicoin.life is one of them. Unicoin was raised through OPO instead of ICO because of the increased transparency that is offered to investors.
Christopher Anthony, Unicoin Co-CEO, declared that the team liked the ICO concept but in practice it was difficult for a US company and the option was not popular among interested investors. As a result, Unicoin decided to use OPO, an SEC-regulated option that allowed investors to see exactly where proceeds go, check backgrounds, verify company data and check the business plan. People that were interested could have invested even small amounts, like $100.
Elio Motors is another OPO example that managed to raise an impressive $17 million. The company has a featured product in a 3-wheeled automobile managing to get an impressive 84 miles per gallon. As a response, Elio Motors got the attention of The Wall Street Journal, the Weather Channel and the New York Times.
Conclusions
Given the large uncertainty and reputation of the ICO model, many investors are looking for much safer alternatives in order to trust blockchain technology investments. When it is possible to access an OPO platform there is no need to focus on the ICO as an opportunity.
Right now we see OPOs flourishing in blockchain and crypto, as ICO alternatives. More and more people are starting to be interested and the number of companies that launch through an OPO model is constantly growing. It is not at all new but should be on the radar of every single person interested in crypto investments at the moment, together with companies that want to launch.
