By now, cryptocurrency is not a stranger to the world. It has become one of the most polarising topics out there. Some see it as digital gold and to some, it’s fool’s gold. To help interested individuals understand what is cryptocurrency and the underlying Blockchain technology, NDNX Cowork Tech Hub, in partnership with Success Resources, brought Cryptocurrency Investor Summit to Hong Kong. On 28 January, over 600 people attended this full-day free summit.

NDN Group CEO Andy Ann was one of the speakers at the summit where he has shared his view on cryptocurrency and the potential of Blockchain. He stressed the need to understand two key points before fully understanding cryptocurrency.

First, Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin. It can support a wide range of applications and it is already being used for peer-to-peer payment services, supply chain tracking and more. Think accounting ledger that appears in the digital space. It is designed to store information in a way that makes it virtually impossible to change data without being detected by others. Therefore, it is tamper-proof. Today, a central authority like the government or bank verifies monetary transactions. Blockchain could replace these centralised systems with decentralised ones, where verification comes from the consensus of numerous users rather than one central authority. Any changes made on Blockchain are reflected across the entire network.

Second, one needs to grasp the genuine concept of money. Throughout history, we have used commodities like salt, cocoa, silver, gold, and in the modern economy, currency (i.e. banknotes, coins) as a medium of exchange so we don’t need to use the barter system. In fact, the banknotes we use today don’t have inherent value since it is considered as a medium of exchange. When you go to a shop and buy something, both you and the cashier agree that the banknote used, for example, a HK$100 note, represents a certain value.

You will ask, what dictates the value of a banknote? For centuries, currencies were tied to “gold standard”, meaning the value of banknotes depends on the government’s gold reserves and each can be swapped for the other. In 1931, Britain had dropped this tied and then the USA followed shortly because gold is scarce, and supply could not catch up. Nowadays, supply, demand, and faith in the government form the basis of currencies.

After the 2008 financial crisis, many don’t trust the centralised system (government, banks) anymore. In October 2008, a mysterious person who solely identify himself as Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper on “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. Few months later the first Bitcoin was launched.

Today there are over 1,000 types of cryptocurrency. People need to understand the fundamentals in order to adopt this new technology. Just like buying a home or vacation package, people need to understand and do research before they take action. It is just a matter of time, when cryptocurrency will reach mass adoption.

New technologies come and go, but the ones that stay derive from the following term: Globalisation. Take internet in the 1990s for example, no one really understands what it is, then internet traction started to roll, several internet bubbles formed and popped, but yet realised its power to bind everyone for speedy communication. By the late 2000s its services and technologies had been incorporated into virtually every aspect of human’s lives. Today we practically cannot live without it. E-commerce, Facebook, Uber, online banking, WeChat are all by-product of the internet.

The new wave for cryptocurrency is surging, and will no doubt further enhance globalisation by revolutionising speedy yet trustworthy transactions.

Blockchain technology, the underlying technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible is poised to change the way startups raise money. Blockchain provides a ledger for recording and verifying transactions and other information among multiple parties without expensive intermediaries like brokers or exchanges.

It’s being used by a growing number of companies in the financial industry and other businesses, and dozens of startups are sprouting to develop new uses for it.

Let’s explore Blockchain marketing trend together!

Entrepreneurs seeking money and capital to build their startups have been long dependent on venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. Now the many startups developing decentralized applications for blockchain technology have another option:

They can go online and easily raise millions by creating digital tokens, for use as currency on blockchain platforms, and selling them in what is known as an initial coin offering, or ICO.

Working in Cohesion with Venture Capitalists

The way ICOs work is fairly straightforward: Companies create and issue digital tokens that can be used to pay for goods and services on their platform or can be stashed away as an investment.

They put out white papers describing the platform, software or product they’re trying to build, and then people buy those tokens using widely-accepted cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether.

This suggests that rather than replacing VCs, ICOs could actually be benefiting greatly from being affiliated with them. There are few validation agents currently in place to lend credibility to ICOs.

VCs could be filling that gap, which is why aggressive ICO and Blockchain marketing approach is critical which consists- dominant strategies for raising awareness and user adoption/

Gaining Authoritative Edge with ICO Fundraising Practices

Perhaps other entities much like independent rating agencies will emerge for ICOs, assuming the market sustains itself and continues to grow. For now, the crypto-fundraising concept is so new that having a respected entity involved goes a long way to reassuring investors.

It’s a way for these startups to raise lots of money without giving up decision-making power to venture capitalists or surrendering any equity to them. This is very important as the philosophy behind the decentralized applications is that not one entity or company owns it.

ICO also makes this possible by being able to make company shares very liquid so there is always a market without any boundaries on who can buy and sell.

Liquidity is a big advantage in ICOs. Venture investments can be tied up for years before seeing a return, while markets in bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies allow for immediate trades of any currency purchased in an ICO.

We can conclude that blockchain technology which made ICOs possible will definitely change how these startups will raise money. Startup seeing this trend and the demand for decentralized applications will have huge benefit over the long term as one of the first movers, however all this first needs a dynamic blockchain marketing plan.

It is fairly easy to raise money as long as you have a good and reputable team and idea. After that market will decide the future for you. As it should be always.

lockchain Marketing With New Digital Noise

At New Digital Noise, we are exploring ICO and Blockchain Marketing together with a number of ICO leaders in the market by offering:

• Marketing strategy comprising over numerous tactics, specifying each tactics potential impact;
• Traffic package, including Facebook, Twitter, Adwords and Reddit, targeting Blockchain community;
• Deliberations by expert blockchain consultants on deployment of marketing tools.
• Consultations on legal aspects by external attorneys experienced in supporting ICOs.
• Learn more about our services today and contact us today at info@ndn.com.hk