“Welcome to the Blockchain Island” was the title of the keynote given by the prime minister of Malta on the first day. It’s been a while now since the Malta Blockchain Summit is over – time to recap and summarize the experiences made.
Let me give you the essence of 10 days networking, researching and analyzing the opportunities on the Blockchain Island.
1. Malta and the new ICO regulation
Malta brought the new bills into place that are regulating ICOs. Basically, the government distinguishes four different types of tokens – depending on facts like exchange listings, there are more types than just utilities and securities that they can be divided into.
More important whatsoever is that the launch of an ICO which is intending to list the token, later on, requires specially licensed agents based on a fixed procedure. This – on the one hand – seems really complicated. On the other hand, Malta is one of the few places that is regulating ICOs, so entrepreneurs are not facing unclear regulations.
2. Malta and STOs?
Is Malta also a go-to place for STOs? In this case, I’d like to refer to the lawyer’s favorite answer: “It depends”. Because it actually does. There are certain cases in which the incorporation of an STO business on Malta makes sense while in other cases different jurisdictions seem to offer better conditions.
The “ICOs and the optimal marketing mix” panel
3. Investor feedback: What do investors look for in the current market situation?
Speaking to investors strengthened the expectation that the market is driving in the direction of security tokens. The legally binding aspects of security tokens make them more appealing for investors – funds I have spoken to even confirmed that they completely shift to security tokens and will not invest in any utilities from now on.
4. ICO & STO Marketing: Targeting the right audience
In the panel, we discussed marketing strategies on stage for STOs and ICOs. The current market of cryptocurrencies requires a different approach and projects need to target their investors specifically – a thought also Christopher Obereder (CMO of Coin Stats) shared with me. The approach also varies a lot between security and utility tokens. Security Tokens often target a smaller audience of HNWIs, family offices and angels while classical ICOs can utilize their tokensale for building a loyal audience and saving customer acquisition costs (CACs).
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