The cryptocurrency exchange BitBay has announced the creation of its Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) launchpad.
BitBay has become the latest major cryptocurrency exchange to create an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) launchpad. IEOs have surged in popularity in recent years, largely replacing the ICO funding model. BitBay’s new platform will launch on November 18, with users given the chance to buy IEO tokens directly via EURO, USD, GBP and Polish Złoty.
With 245 IEOs having taken place in the past few years, BitBay may be late to the party – but the exchange hopes to hit the ground running. Its first project will be Estonia-based QAN, a quantum-resistant blockchain platform that runs smart contracts in multiple languages. The native QAN platform token (QARK) is designed to help developers and entrepreneurs build smart contracts in their native programming language while combating the threat of quantum computing to blockchains. The public sale of QARK tokens will take place across three pools, running for one, three, and five weeks respectively.
“As a licensed cryptocurrency exchange, we want to offer our users a possibility to participate with innovative and reliable projects,” said Paweł Sobków, CEO of Pinewood Estonia OÜ, a BitBay platform operator. “We believe QAN is one of them. QAN brings great value to blockchain developers and has the potential to level up the cryptocurrency industry ecosystem.”
BitBay Lays on an Array of Investor Resources
BitBay, which serves over 800,000 users worldwide, aims to distinguish its platform by making it space where investors can do more than just, well, invest: it will also be an information hub, an all-in-one solution delivering detailed information about projects, including whitepapers, reports and token sale plans.
The IEO token sale method was first adopted by Binance, which has enjoyed great success on its eponymous launchpad. Indeed, the exchange’s first four projects generated a return of 203%. While Coinbase is rumored to be considering launching its own platform, others – such as Huobi and KuCoin – have already entered the fray. At present, there are at least 15 exchanges supporting or developing IEOs.
Initial exchange offerings represent a radical shift from the ICO model, but only time will tell whether they prove to be as successful. The perception is that they offer a safer way to invest in tokens, with exchanges hosting the IEOs providing a “trust” factor.
In the meantime, BitBay will hope that its IEO launchpad can emulate those of its competitors. The exchange, which has been in operation since 2014, already lists 36 coins and provides over 120 trading pairs.
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