A year ago, Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and Funderbeam co-founder, Urmas Peiker, had a vision of a blockchain-trading platform designed for new startups looking for angel investors. They envisioned a service to give these new ventures a leg up before they go public or are sold.
A year later, incubator Funderbeam has launched its innovative trading platform for startups saying it is “the first time in history where startup investments are being traded using blockchain technology.”
Funderbeam’s goal is to change the game for early stage investors, making it their own choice as to how long they want to hold on to their investments. By using the Bitcoin blockchain to “tokenize” the investments, Funderbeam wants to make trading secure, efficient, open and transparent.
“Investing in the future will be digital, always on, and transparent. As will companies,” said Kaidi Ruusalepp, Funderbeam’s CEO and co-founder and former CEO of Nasdaq Estonia. “I’m excited to see us take the first steps toward that future.”
The first two companies to be listed on the new exchange are two Estonian startups, Shipitwise and SportID. Both companies successfully conducted crowdfunding campaigns on Funderbeam first. A third startup, Sportlyzer, will follow shortly.
Funderbeam is currently working with interested young companies in the U.K., Germany and Finland to expand its service beyond Estonia but wants to conduct a trial run with the first three startups to ensure a smooth operation.
Venture capitalist Tim Draper said when Funderbeam first launched: “I love what they’re doing. You know, the existing public market is not working and Funderbeam is doing something about it.”
At the original announcement , CEO Ruusalepp predicted the growing importance of blockchain technology in the financial world: “Blockchains are going to do for the financial sector what the internet did for daily life as we know it. Stock exchanges have many intermediaries […]
