Upcoming ICO: Philanthropy Has Made Its Way Onto the Blockchain

Certain industries have become oversaturated on the blockchain, such as advertising, payments and banking, for instance. One area that till now has been underrepresented is philanthropy. The AidCoin ICO seeks to change that by giving charities a platform to raise funds using Ethereum's distributed ledger technology, or blockchain. The upcoming ICO is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2018, at which time the startup will offer up to 100 million of its AID tokens. The ICO pre-sale, in which the company targeted 30,000 ETH, recently closed. They fell short of that target and raised 8,333 ETH.

AidCoin is looking to solve the problem of fraud in the non-profit sector and revive trust among U.S. and UK donors, where they say confidence has particularly been eroded. Blockchain smart contracts, they say, are the solution, pointing to their transparency and low-cost features. The AidCoin technology would allow users to track their donations along the blockchain, whether in cryptocurrency or fiat money, which would give them more confidence that their funds are being directed in the way they were intended. They also boast US tax deductions for users of the AidCoin.

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Upcoming ICO Details 

AidCoin is backed by CharityStars, which has already raised USD 2.4 million in venture capital funding. They've also raised more than USD 10 million in charity auctions across hundreds of non-profits including Unicef, Save the Children and World Wildlife Fund. 

A beta version of the AidCoin platform is planned for Q1 2018, which coincides with the upcoming ICO. By the second quarter of next year, AidCoin should be fully integrated into CharityStars, at which time the AidPay platform should allow them to take fiat currency, BTC and ETH coins as well as other major cryptocurrencies, all of which can be converted to the AidCoin. 

Originally the AidCoin ICO was scheduled for sooner, but the startup has decided to postpone its token sale in the wake of what they describe as "interest coming from all fronts," including institutional investors. The delay will give AidCoin the ability to "deliver the best value for early backers," which seems to translate into the popular discounts that upcoming ICOs generally extend to the biggest investors.