Upcoming ICO: Norway’s Intex Resources to Launch Maiden Asset-Backed ICO

If innovation and security are what investors want from an upcoming ICO, the Intex token sale just might deliver on all fronts. The Oslo, Norway listed company bills the deal as the maiden asset-backed token sale, with plans to offer digital coins that can be exchanged for physical assets including Intex’s metal reserves comprised of iron ore and nickel ore. Intex partnered with Harmonychain for the upcoming ICO, a blockchain-driven tech play with pending distributed ledger technology patents. The ICO is expected to unfold sometime after Jan. 1, 2018. 

Intex may be one of only a handful of listed companies to pursue and ICO but according to Lars Beitnes, the company’s chairman, it won’t be the last. He suggested that public entities are increasingly recognizing the benefits of token sales as a means for fundraising:

“The new world of serious and secure digital currencies and tokens opens up a whole new way for listed companies to raise capital. We believe our ICO would be the first of many to come from other companies in Norway and internationally,” said Beitnes. He added that a key benefit of a publicly listed company raising funds via an upcoming ICO is not having to dilute the shares of existing investors. Intex shares were halted on the Oslo Stock Exchange as of February. It’s unclear the status of the shares today. 

Upcoming ICO Could Attract Institutional Investors

The upcoming ICO could attract hedge fund traders who are interested in hedging with iron ore or nickel ore. Other investors may simply want to hold an asset-backed cryptocurrency, which removes some of the risk from the cryptocurrency equation given the the tokens are backed by underlying physical assets. As long as investors believe Intex will continue to produce metal, they have some security that other cryptocurrencies leave out. The funds raised from the Intex ICO provide interest-free financing to the company based on future production. 

In conjunction with the Intex ICO Intex also announced a rebranding effort in which it will change its name to Element ASA.