ICO Resurgence? Ethereum Co-Founder: Large Token Sales to Resume

ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin recently participated in an Ethereum virtual summit, where he discussed the development of ConsenSys. Lubin stated that he plans to start conducting a significant number of token sales when tokens have practical use cases and comply with SEC guidelines, with tokens becoming a key component of the financialized future.

Conducting Token Sales at Scale in Compliance

ConsenSys is the Ethereum blockchain development organization founded by Lubin. In a live podcast of "Into the Ether," Lubin, as one of the co-founders of Ethereum, not only briefly explained the history of Ethereum but also mentioned to the host, "We are going to resell a significant amount of tokens."

During the initial years, ConsenSys conducted numerous ICO activities as a way to crowdfund incubating projects, but slowed down as regulatory actions intensified in 2018. Fast forward to 2020, Lubin aims to resume token sales but with a different approach. He stated:

It's about how you conduct sales and marketing. You can sell utility tokens, and to comply with regulations, make sure you are not selling in large quantities to speculators and follow the SEC's guidance. For example, provide substantial evidence that investors are actually using the token before official trading begins. This will make it a legal and compliant utility token.

When Ethereum conducted its ICO in 2014, regulatory agencies paid little attention. However, with regulatory intervention, these token projects had little room for maneuver. Lubin believes he has come up with a viable solution, possibly part of why ConsenSys launched the Codefi Activate platform.

Previously reported, Activate is a one-stop platform for token purchase and management launched by ConsenSys Codefi, allowing development teams to raise operational funds needed for development and enabling the public to participate in token sales, with SKALE Networks being the platform's first project.

Structural Changes Ahead

ConsenSys recently underwent several rounds of downsizing. In April this year, they reduced staff by 14%, marking the second round of layoffs in two months. However, Lubin explained that this was a natural response to the economic reality and global uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 crisis. He emphasized:

Our revenue forecast for 2020 is nearly double that of 2019. Due to structural factors, we had to make adjustments (downsizing). Although we often argue within the company, we are getting stronger, and everyone is moving in the same direction.

Following the downsizing, ConsenSys expects its revenue for this year to remain "stable" compared to last year, but Lubin did not disclose whether further layoffs are planned.

The Future is Financial

Regarding the development of financial trends, Lubin believes that ConsenSys' future will be "financialized," with the interaction between some decentralized platform development work and governance becoming more apparent, all centered around tokens, which will also be part of governance.

In addition, Lubin mentioned decentralized finance (DeFi) and the "Staking-as-a-service" established in collaboration with the Ethereum Foundation. He stated:

ConsenSys has been building infrastructure for it, and many organizations and institutions are interested in being able to provide staking services in a more general form. We are in commercial discussions with them.

However, Lubin's discussion mostly focused on tokens and financial applications, seeming to deviate from the early dream of Ethereum becoming a world-class computer. Lubin mentioned that while outsiders may see DeFi as something new, in reality, DeFi will be just the beginning of everything.