Blockchain startup Blockstack has raised $23 million in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-regulated token offering in the United States, along with a strategic investment round in Asia, the company announced on Tuesday.
With the fundraising round, the decentralized computing company on September 9 became the first company to conduct a token offering in the US under the SEC Reg A+ compliance rules.
The Asian fundraising round was led by Hashkey Group and SNZ.
Commenting on the development, Muneeb Ali, CEO of the company, said: “Our goals for working with regulators in the States were twofold. Primarily, we wanted to reach more retail investors who can be users of our network, and have a financial stake in the success of our ecosystem. Secondly, we identified Asia as a priority market, and our SEC qualification added weight to our strategic move toward Asia.”
In the official blog post, Ali revealed that more than 4,500 investors participated in the regulated token sale round.
“Blockstack PBC has entered into agreements for more than $23M in these offerings (including both our SEC-qualified token offering and our offering to investors outside the United States made under Regulation S),” Ali said.
A token sale under the SEC's purview
Blockstack received the SEC’s permission to conduct an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) ) in July under the Regulation A+ framework. The company sought permission to raise up to $28 million, a major chunk of which is already raised.
Blockstack is developing a decentralized computing network and hosts over 250 applications on its network. Earlier, the company also raised $52 million from accredited investors and venture capitals.
Apart from these fresh fundings, the company is also considering to raise another $5 million from private investors in Asia.
“We are in discussions with international investors for an additional $5M+ which may be distributed in a separate private placement or in a follow-on SEC-qualified offering, as we have previously disclosed in our SEC filings. The goal of this additional distribution is to continue growing our community and network in Asia,” Ali added.
