UK BLOCKCHAIN STARTUP BABB LAUNCHES EQUITY CROWDSALE TO FUND BANKING LICENSE

A new equity crowdsale has launched, offering investors the opportunity to buy shares in BABB, a new blockchain-powered banking venture aiming to end financial exclusion and promote economic empowerment.

BABB is aiming to become the UK’s first bank to be built on a blockchain, and uses its own crypto-asset, BAX, under the hood. Having raised almost $20 million earlier this year, BABB is holding an equity sale in order to appeal to a wider audience and give its existing supporters a chance to hold shares in the company.

With blockchain and cryptocurrencies poised to revolutionise the financial services industry, the recent popularity of initial coin offerings (ICOs) threaten to leave traditional VC and angel investors behind. In holding an equity crowdsale, BABB is one of the few companies in this space to offer a slice of the pie to equity investors. Shareholders will have ownership, voting and preemption rights.

Along with shares in BABB Group Ltd, the parent company which owns subsidiaries including BABB BNK, the entity seeking to become regulated, and BABB Ltd, the software development company developing the app and blockchain platform, investors will be rewarded with various perks depending on the size of their investment. Investor perks include a free allocation of BAX (BABB’s native crypto-asset), early access to the beta mobile app, free access to a premium BABB account and exclusive BABB merchandise.

The money raised in the crowdsale will be used to the fund the Bank of England’s minimum capital requirement which BABB must provide in order to obtain a banking license. BABB aims to achieve bank status in the UK in early 2019, parallel to the launch of its banking app in the UK and Europe.

The BABB app will showcase a suite of exciting features, including the ability to open an entry-level account using just face and voice recognition; make instantaneous and low-cost peer-to-peer transactions within the platform; request payments; and exchange between currencies. The platform will also offer the ability to exchange between fiat and cryptocurrencies in a separate app.

BABB bank accounts will enjoy superior blockchain-based security to protect customers’ money. By using a federated blockchain, BABB will also implement a privacy by design mechanism which puts customers in control of their personal data (patent pending). With increasing consumer concern around financial security and the protection of data, BABB intends to focus the product launch on this unique aspect of their offering.