While the cryptocurrency markets may no longer be as bullish as they were back in 2017 and while Initial Coin Offerings continue to be shrouded by controversies, Monday was a breakthrough event for ICOs. The first major Bitcoin Cash blockchain based ICO, issued by mining pool ViaBTC for their ViaBTC Token (VIAT) managed to raise $30 Mn in just 2.2 hours - statistically speaking, this boils down to $3700 per second.
The ViaBTC Token has been launched making use of the Wormhole protocol. ViaBTC calls their token a value added service and has termed it a ‘privilege token’. The basic purpose of this token is that it can be used as ‘gas’, which is basically a method of value transfer. The company has capped this token at a supply of 2 Billion VIAT. Moreover, it was also announced that Coinex users who hold this token would get the CET token airdropped to them.
While VIAT can be used as a tool for value transfer and as a privilege token, the currency’s primary use is to be used as a token for a process termed ‘Duo Mining’. ViaBTC, a company known for their cryptocurrency mining pool, will provide VIAT payouts as a bonus along with their regular cryptocurrency payouts to the miners. Furthermore, users who invite friends to mine on the platform would get additional bonuses and benefits in terms of ViaBTC payments.
The VIAT token can also be used to pay the pool fees, as well as can be utilized to pay for an exclusive access to customer support. ViaBTC souvenirs, accessories to enhance mining processes, as well as the access to ViaBTC’s accelerator can also be purchased using ViaBTC. The company details their plans for the VIAT token by adding:
“[The] Viabtc Token can be used as ‘gas’ and value transfer tool. We will add more application and privileges to it so that its holders can participate in the planning of Viabtc operations, building and improving Viabtc ecosystem together with the Viabtc team.”
This is a record first for the Bitcoin Cash blockchain platform - and shows that if the product is interesting, there will always be a demand for the ICO regardless of the platform the company chooses. This might even lead to more Bitcoin Cash based ICOs in the days to follow, as cryptocurrency markets recover.
Roger Ver May Launch a BCH Focused Crypto-Exchange
In other Bitcoin Cash related news, controversial cryptocurrency expert and Bitcoin Cash advocate Roger Ver said during an interview with Bloomberg that he might buy or develop his own cryptocurrency exchange in the future. He added that this would be a Bitcoin Cash focussed platform, where BCH would be the base currency. He added:
If we build it ourselves, we can do it really, really cheap, and we get exactly what we want. But we don’t have the security of a battle-tested exchange that’s been around for a while.
While no further details were provided as of now, he hinted that he might get the developers of Bitcoin.com on board to code this platform. It will be interesting to see how these plans pan out. Stay tuned with us on Cryptoground for all the latest updates from the world of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology!