UK's 1st Bitcoin Company IPO on Track Amid ‘Supportive Environment’

Cointelegraph reached out to Coinsilium to get some more details on its milestone IPO, set to become one of just a handful of Bitcoin companies in the world — and the first in Britain — to list its shares on London's junior stock market AIM.

Why AIM? 

London-based Coinsilium plans to raise £3 million (US$4.6 million) with its listing on AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market), the stock market for small companies run by the London Stock Exchange.

Coinsilium's CEO Eddy Travia has been managing VC and private equity funds for over a decade, and the reason this particular exchange was chosen was because it is “a very successful growth market,” he told Cointelegraph. He also added that “other directors at Coinsilium have significant experience with AIM listed companies.”

Additionally, given London’s rising status as a FinTech hub and a US$14.6 million UK government fund pledged for digital currency research, the location of the IPO for this blockchain-focused company does not come as a surprise. 

Travia noted the UK’s favorable climate for crypto startups:

“Listing in London was considered due to the British government and institutions positive and progressive attitude to the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. Thanks to organizations such as Innovate Finance we have been able to spend time talking to regulators, the Bank of England and members of government, so we know that there is a supportive environment in which to list and grow Coinsilium.”

The company is hoping to take advantage of the increasing interest in blockchain technology, particularly from big banks such as Citi, which has been experimenting with its own version of cryptocurrency dubbed “Citicoin.”

“We don’t have resistance when we talk to investors. They’re curious and interested,” he explained to Business Insider. He continued: "There is a little of education of course, putting facts and putting news into context regarding blockchain and cryptocurrencies. But the reception has been good and a lot of people are starting to contact us, of course now more than before because we just announced the coming IPO."

Portfolio Plans

Coinsilium’s portfolio includes other blockchain-focused companies such as Factom, bitSIM, Hive, and SatoshiPay. The company envisions the public listing of these companies on AIM in the future, as it hopes to blaze a trail for blockchain startups IPOs.

“We are opening the way for future IPOs of blockchain startups and we hope to help some of the companies we have invested in to list on AIM in the future,” Travia told Cointelegraph. “In the near term it means a wider access to professional services and I believe that having one of their shareholders listed on an internationally recognized exchange can help when approaching later stage investors.”

Travia explained, however, that the Coinsilum IPO shares will not be available for purchase to everyone.

“The initial raise is for qualified investors only. However, when the shares are admitted to trading on AIM, then you will be able to purchase through any UK stockbroker,” he said.

In other words, after the initial offering, anyone will be able to buy shares from a brokerage firm like Scottrade, which includes international investors who have access to a UK stockbroker. 

COIN

Moving forward, Travia believes that the next wave of investment interest in the space will “continue the current diversification in the sectors and industries it touches upon, moving away from a financial/merchant focus to creating solutions for a wide range of industries and economic sectors.”

Coinsilium expects to be listed in August under the ticker COIN. When asked what the difference is between this ticker and Bitcoin Investment Trust’s GBTC, which started publicly trading in late March, Travia replied:

“GBTC value and performance are related to the bitcoin price. Coinsilium is a company operating and investing in the blockchain industry; although its interests include bitcoin-related startups, COIN's own performance, its investees' performances and the company's revenues from advisory service provision are not related to the bitcoin price.”

Travia was unable to comment on the expected price range for the IPO.