First-Ever SEC-Qualified Token Offering in US Raises $23 Million

Blockstack PBC, a decentralized computing network, announced that it managed to raise more than $23 million in the first-ever U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-approved token offering.

Participation from U.S. retail investors

Muneeb Ali, co-founder and CEO of Blockstack PBC wrote in a blog post on Sept. 10 that the blockchain-based startup Blockstack has raised more than $23 million in token offerings, which include its SEC-qualified token offering and its offering to investors outside the United States.

Retail investors in the U.S. were able to partake for the first time in a token offering qualified by the SEC. More than 4,500 individuals and entities participated. Investors included Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, Recruit Holdings, Arrington Capital, Hashkey Group, Fenbushi Capital, Frontier Ventures and Spartan Group.

Ali wrote that, in addition to retail investors, attracting strategic investors from Asia was a key goal of the token offerings. He added:

“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.”

The SEC go-ahead

As Cointelegraph previously reported, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission gave blockchain-based startup Blockstack the go-ahead to run a multi-million public token offering under regulation A+.

A regulation A+ funding round is a kind of initial public offering (IPO) tailored towards startups in need of early funding, in which any member of the public can partake.

Ali, alongside co-founder Ryan Shea, reportedly spent 10 months and approximately $2 million to gain approval from the SEC in advance of their token offering.