Templum Raises $2.7 Million to Launch Regulated ICO Platform
Blockchain technology firm Templum has raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Raptor Group, Galaxy Investment Partners, Blockchain Capital and firstminute.capital. The company will use the funds for operational expansion, product development and talent acquisition.
Founded this year, Templum aims to offer both primary issuance of initial coin offerings (ICO) and the secondary trading of both registered and unregistered digital assets as securities through an Alternative Trading System (ATS), a US and Canadian regulatory term for a non-exchange trading venue that matches buyers and sellers to find counterparties for transactions.
Templum teamed with affiliate broker-dealer Liquid M Capital to create a turn-key solution for the initial issuance and secondary trading of ICOs as unregistered private securities. Templum said its proprietary technology and intellectual property, combined with Liquid M Capital’s ATS, will provide ICO investors with a first of its kind platform for the sale and secondary trading of digital tokens.
“ICOs offer innovative organizations an efficient alternative for raising capital,” said Templum founder and CEO Chris Pallotta. “However, ICOs in their current form can be highly risky for issuers and investors. Templum will provide the necessary transparency, accountability, and investor protection to reduce risks and encourage more widespread acceptance of ICOs.”
Blockchain Capital co-founder and managing partner Bart Stephens said Templum has entered the ICO market at the ideal time when compliance and investor protection are top of mind for industry participants.
“Their solutions provide much needed certainty regarding regulatory obligations, safeguards to protect investors and a vital secondary marketplace for liquidity,” said Stephens. “We’re excited to partner with Templum to further democratize access to digital assets while bolstering overall market integrity.”
Back in July, The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released an investigative report on ICOs. The report stated that offers and sales of digital assets that are securities by “virtual” organizations in the US are subject to the requirements of the federal securities laws. Subsequently, some ICOs conducted prior to the SEC’s investigative report could be deemed to have violated securities laws and ICO issuers could be held liable for these violations.
In response, the company submitted a letter asking the commission to grant ICO issuers a grace period of 180 days to remediate any possible violations related to their past ICOs, except those that may have involved fraud.
“We will continue to advocate for the advancement of the digital asset community that is balanced with the need for regulatory compliance and investor protection,” said Pallotta. “We believe narrowly tailored remedial relief solution for these issuers and investors will support the innovative ICO model while helping issuers meet the necessary regulatory requirements within an established securities framework like the one we offer.”
