A German blockchain startup that’s looking to raise a whopping $US75 million ($96 million) via an initial coin offering (ICO) is hoping to enlist a number of Aussies as investors after embarking on a roadshow this week.
According to Fairfax, Shivom is visiting Australia after enlisting local blockchain advisory firm DigitalX as corporate consultants for its ICO process, and the company is seeking private equity and high net worth individuals to contribute to its capital raise.
The company is seeking $US45 million in digital currency via a pre-sale, and $US30 million in a public sale of its OMX tokens.
Shivom’s main offering is genome sequencing, which it will offer users for around $900, with the data from the sequencing then being stored via the blockchain to create “the largest genomic data-hub on the planet”.
“Contributors own their genomic data, control the right to access it, and receive rewards if they choose to share it,” the company says on its website.
The company has also landed a partnership with NASDAQ and ASX-listed molecular diagnostics provider Genetic Technologies Limited (GTG), with the company saying in a blog post the partnership will be used as a way to obtain ethically sourced DNA data for research, but also as a way to give users more accurate information about their own DNA.
“We are extremely happy to collaborate with GTG and hope to build a remarkable future in the avenues of DNA analysis, genomic research, and medical education and solutions that can be derived eventually,” the company said.
In other Australian ICO news, stablecoin startup Havven finalised a $39 million capital raise last week, and today has begun issuing users their HAV tokens, with trading likely to begin shortly.
Prices for other local blockchain startups were down across the board, however, with Power Ledger (POWR), CanYa (CAN), and Horizon State (HST) all down approximately 30% over the last week due to downtrends in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
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Dominic Powell is a journalist at SmartCompany and a tech and music geek. When he’s not writing, you can find him reading or browsing record shops.
