Blockchain investment firm plans $50M IPO
Toronto-based NextBlock will be an easy way to gain exposure to the technology
PORTLAND— NextBlock Global Ltd., the venture-capital firm that invests in blockchain startups, plans to raise $50 million in an initial public offering this year on the Toronto Stock Exchange, chief executive officer Alex Tapscott said.
The offering would make NextBlock an easy way to invest in blockchain technology, which could revolutionize fields from finance to supply chain management. Today, small investors are mostly limited to buying related digital currencies, such as bitcoin, to gain exposure to blockchain.
Tapscott is a co-author, with his father, of Blockchain Revolution: How the Technology Behind Bitcoin Is Changing Money, Business, and the World. The duo has championed the technology as a way to increase transparency and speed up transactions in finance and other industries.
Started in May, Toronto-based NextBlock has already raised $20 million from institutional and high net-worth investors, including bankers from Merrill Lynch and a former chair of one of the world’s largest banks, according to Tapscott, who declined to provide names.
The company has invested in several ventures focused on developing blockchain technology, such as Aion, Cosmos and Icon, and eventually plans to hold 10 to 20 investments at any given time, he said.
NextBlock helps entrepreneurs find partners and markets, as well as to go through initial coin offerings, a popular — if controversial — way for startups to raise money.
NextBlock is close to selecting bankers to take it public, Tapscott said. The IPO is expected before the end of 2017, he said.