In this article, you’ll learn what a security token offering (STO) is and how are they different (or better) from initial coin offerings (ICO) and traditional investment mechanisms.
We will also discuss the potential future of STOs and what experts have to say about them. As security tokens are rising in popularity, more and more potential investors and businesses are searching for information about STOs. This blog aims to help them with correct and updated information.
Security token offering, or STO, refers to a new kind of fundraising method that has recently emerged in popularity, owing to the failure or drawbacks of the existing fundraising mechanisms.
Engage Your Investors in Fundraising via Security Token Offering (STO) Now!
Gone are the days when startups had limited ways to raise funding for their projects. In recent years, many new fundraising mechanisms have emerged which have become popular because of their transparency and healthy use of technology means.
ICO, or Initial Coin Offering, is one such fundraising method being employed by thousands of startups for fundraising purposes, especially in the cryptocurrency space.
What are ICOs and why
did they become less effective?
Well, ICOs were not always a failure. In fact, they managed to help companies raise over $22 billion in no time. Yes, that’s true. There was a time when ICOs were so popular that almost every investor was eager to become a part of them. But not anymore.
Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) are primarily used by companies that deal in blockchain-related projects and can provide their investors with a digital value, in the form of a token, in exchange for their money.
Tokens are built on blockchain technology, which is a distributed, public ledger of digital records. Most of the companies dealing in ICOs were selling utility tokens in exchange for investor funding. These utility tokens were supposed to give investors access to the particular platform or product that the said company was building.
However, soon the focus of ICO investors shifted from utilizing the tokens for access to using them as a means of investment. Due to the high liquidity of tokens, many new trading markets developed which started allowing token holders to sell their tokens for higher prices according to the market shift.
But eventually, ICOs became ineffective because of the increasing fraud in this space. Many new companies and startups started seeing ICO as an easy way to invite quick investments, which it was.
However, most of these companies failed to develop the product or platform for which they had collected investors’ money. The lack of proper regulation resulted in investors losing their money invested in ICOs. This is what gave birth to the security token offering, also called STO.
What is an STO? Security Token Offering (STO) is the latest form of fundraising being used by startups in the digital space. One of the primary benefits of STO market investments is that investors get security tokens instead of utility tokens. In order to understand the benefits of STO, one should know what a security token is.
What is a security token?
Security tokens are simply a digital representation of a tradable, valuable asset. These behave similarly to traditional securities which hold real value. This is why security tokens must be regulated under federal securities regulations. One of the prerequisites to be a security token is to pass the Howey Test.
The tokenization of securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) in the form of security tokens can give them more transparency and liquidity. Since security tokens are regulated and have real value, they are immensely beneficial for investors and have many realistic use cases.
All Security Tokens are subject to basic security regulations, according to which the investors, as well as security token providers, must be properly accredited.
Security Token Offering (STO) is essentially a fundraising mechanism in which the holding company sells security tokens in exchange for investors’ money. The major benefit of this type of investment is that they are recognized by law, therefore, the investors can be assured of an ROI.
In the past couple of years, many successful STOs have been organized by both new startups and established companies. According to the ICO rating, more than $700MM were raised by different STOs by February 2019. This is the data related only to compliance STO. The interest in the STO space has rapidly increased over the past year or so.
More than half of the new companies in the blockchain industry are choosing STO over ICO for funding purposes. Here’s why.
Why More Companies are Choosing Security Token Offerings (STO)
STOs are better in terms of features and security against both traditional security offerings and ICOs. Here are some of the advantages of STOs over other funding mechanisms:
High Transparency
As security tokens (or any other cryptocurrency for that matter) are developed on blockchain tech, the transactions involving these currencies are public and transparent. The benefit is that such transactions are easy to verify in case of a dispute.
Faster Execution
Traditional investments, including
securities, have a lengthy transaction procedure since each
transaction goes through middlemen, such as banks or stock
authorities, before execution, which only increases the overall time
of transaction processing. Security tokens, on the other hand, have
faster execution and lower processing time because of the lack of
middlemen.
Credibility
One of the primary reasons why ICOs
have started losing their grip over investors is the lack of
accountability because, unlike security tokens, utility tokens need
not be regulated. This is why fraudulent activities and projects have
increased a lot in this space. And this is why, investors are moving
towards STO, which is a more secure investment product.
24/7 Instant Trading
One of the major benefits of security tokens is that they can be traded at any time and from anywhere. Since cryptocurrency trading is a global activity that is performed online, the token holders can engage in security token trading at their own pace and convenience.
Increased Liquidity
Since security tokens are regulated,
only licensed token trading platforms are allowed to accept trades on
security tokens. This makes it easier for holders to liquidate their
tokens and get good value at the time. Security tokens are known to
be able to turn even traditionally illiquid markets liquid.
Access to Global Investors
Unlike traditional investment
mechanisms which are limited to specific reasons, STO investments are
global, allowing organizers to market their products/deals on a
global platform and investors to invest in new projects globally,
which results in increased exposure and valuation of underlying
assets.
Low Cost
The presence of middlemen in
traditional finance & investments increases the cost of trading,
decreasing the profitability of investors. Security token offerings
do not involve any middleman, so there is no transaction fee and
lesser complexity.
Smart Contracts (No Lawyer Fee)
Similar to many other cryptocurrencies, security tokens utilize the smart contract facility of blockchain to automate transactions and various other functions through programming. This will not only improve security but also reduce the code of transactions as no lawyer service is needed.
Automated (No Third-party
Manipulation)
Since there are no middlemen in transactions involving security tokens, the probability of manual or human intervention, and therefore fraud, is virtually nil. This way, STOs minimize financial institutions’ interference in the investment process, increasing profitability and security for the end users.
Easy to Customize
Digital assets such as cryptocurrencies are very easy to customize, as they can be coded for nearly any type of functionality. As far as STOs are concerned, security tokens can be customized for KYC, transaction limits, dividends, and more.
What the future holds
for security token offerings
Now that we have discussed so much about security tokens and know what we need to know about them, it is natural to wonder what the future holds for these currencies and security token offerings.
Based on the speculations in the crypto market and the views of industry experts, here’s a brief analysis of the future of security token offerings in 2019 and beyond that.
Experts believe that the flexible
nature of security tokens will enable companies to implement
liquidity in their businesses by making their valuable components
more liquid and tradable, which will, in turn, create new investment
opportunities.
Different startups have different reasons to pursue a Security Token Offering (STO). For instance, UCC (United Cancer Centers) project is implementing an STO because they needed a way to fractionate distribution-based investment contracts so as to offer their investors a revenue-sharing model. This has been made possible by security tokens which make these smart contracts liquidate on STO exchanges.
Other startups and organizations are simply leveraging the blockchain feature of Security Token Offerings to expand their fundraising capabilities beyond a specific region to global investors, while at the same time offering revenue-sharing models to their investors and token holders.
Conclusion
Security tokens which are regulated and far more secure as compared to utility tokens and fiat currencies are now becoming an obvious choice of investors and companies looking for tokenization of real estate, gold, or other assets.
Overall, it is fair to say that both investors’ and companies’ interest in STO is growing and will continue to grow in the coming future, as security tokens are more liquid than any other cryptocurrency variant while being less risky. The future seems only bright for their digital tokens.
Atul is a passionate writer with 8+ years of experience in creating content across domains ranging from crypto marketing, blockchain development and digital marketing for different industries. My expertise lies in marketing content and highly engaging website copies that impress readers and boost ROI.
Email : webmaster@sagipl.com
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