Capital raising mindset

Token Fundraising, Liquidity and Private Market Secondaries

How Crypto, AI, and Decentralized Apps are Shaping Investment Decisions and Fundraising

Founders, fund managers and family office members who want to understand how token fundraising, tokenized assets and private market secondaries are being discussed as capital sources.

The short version

Simon describes raising money by issuing tokens in Asia since about 2015, after working with tokens and cryptocurrency in 2012 and 2013. He says this approach reaches high-risk projects in emerging markets that conventional fundraising does not. His example is a $5 million raise for a small business in southern Africa, which he says is not possible through normal channels.

The panel then turns to tokenized infrastructure, liquidity and secondaries. Simon describes plans for 50 to 100 warehouses under one token and says token liquidity depends on the quality and marketing of the company. Another panelist says US secondaries keep growing as companies stay private longer, and Simon closes by calling digital finance a parallel system, not a replacement.

5 key takeaways

1. Tokens have funded projects for years. Simon says his team worked with tokens and cryptocurrency in Asia in 2012 and 2013. They have raised money by issuing tokens since about 2015, which he puts at nearly 10 years of digital fundraising.
2. Reaching projects conventional capital skips. Simon says a $5 million raise for a small business in southern Africa is not possible through conventional fundraising. Simon describes tokens as one way to try to reach projects like that, and notes that investors may lose money.
3. Bundling assets to spread risk. One larger project builds 50 to 100 warehouses and issues a token against them. Simon says the goal is to spread risk and provide liquidity tied to future cash flows. He also mentions power stations in places like Africa.
4. Token liquidity follows company effort. Simon compares a token to a normal share issue. A company that markets itself and keeps raising money gets liquidity, while one with a boring story and no PR does not. Tokenized real estate has less liquidity because owners rarely sell.
5. Secondaries are growing in private markets. A panelist says more brokers now offer access to late-stage private companies, and the list has grown into the dozens. Another notes that companies stay private longer, so investors want their money back, which creates room for secondaries.

Said on the call

From the source

• Simon says his team worked with tokens and cryptocurrency in Asia in 2012 and 2013 and began raising money by issuing tokens from about 2015.
• One project described would build 50 to 100 warehouses and issue a token that Simon says is meant to diversify risk and provide liquidity.
• Simon cites a $5 million raise for a small business in southern Africa as one that conventional fundraising could not support.

General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.

Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around token offering rules, securities classification and investor eligibility rules. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.

Related questions

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