BitcoinGrowthFund uses advanced blockchain technology and issues tokens, which represent each of your digital investments in the fund

Traditionally, VC funds are meant for the affluent. One needs to have the kind of cash and the knowledge to be an active and highly sought-after VC investor. Yet, it does not guarantee success and multi-bagger exit. As per estimates, over 80 per cent of investments fail.

The advent of crowd-funding platforms has kind of “democratised” the startup investment space. The likes of Kickstarter and Indiegogo have turned everyone an investor, but these, too, have some string attached to them. Most companies/startups who launch crowd-funding campaigns are hardware firms, which take investments from individuals in exchange for the product.

Also Read: Southeast Asia gets its first Bitcoin startup incubator

Here is another new form of VC fund that makes virtually everyone in the world an investor, with not many strings attached. The only condition is that you have to be 21 years old and above. Unlike conventional VC funds which deal in cash, this fund is run on the concept of Bitcoins.

“BitcoinGrowthFund (BGF) is a Blockchain-based VC fund. It is like a Kickstarter where customers can own equity in the form of tokens in various investment opportunities,” Phil McCauley, Co-founder of BGF, told e27.

“BGF is different from a conventional VC fund. With BGF, we have launched three tokens which people can invest into. Customers can invest in any or all the three different funds and earn profits through monthly returns on their investments. Also, there is no lock-in period for the tokens and customers can trade their tokens with other cryptocurrency users,” McCauley explained.

BGF was launched in Dubai in 2016 by Phil McCauley, Nagaraj Konda, Matthias Frost, Peter French, and Tim Miller — who have a collective experience of over 90 years in the IT and fintech industries. With an office in India, BGF eyes global markets with the fund.

The fund aims to democratise the growth-stage investment market that is currently dominated by big investors and VC firms. With BGF, one can easily invest in startups and organisations that are raising growth-stage rounds. You can invest as low as 0.01 BTC to as much as you like.

BGF uses advanced blockchain technology and issues a token for each of your investments. Each digital token represents your investment in the funds. Token owners can trade tokens on BGF.

The process is not hindered by national borders. Trading makes exits easy and quick. All purchases and trades of the tokens are recorded on the blockchain, making everything transparent and secure.

“Any individuals of 21 years and above, and corporate entity can start an account on BGF. Post an identity verification process, you are eligible to invest in three fund categories — Mining and ICO fund (MCAP), Blockchain Start-up Fund (XBLC), and Loyalty and New Technologies Fund (LOYL),” explained McCauley.

MCAP is a fund where the funds raised through the token sale will be invested in various mining projects and other ICOs to be launched by startups. BGF sees mining as an extremely profitable business venture and with the growing market of cryptocurrencies, mining is seen as the best long-term investment. Through the XBLC tokens, BGF will be targeting growth stage blockchain companies. With LOYL, companies pay rewards to customers based on their purchase to further encourage repeat visits.

“Consider our MCAP tokens. The funds we raise through the investment of individuals in our MCAP tokens goes into the funding of various mining farms and other startups launching initial coin offering (ICO). Startups in the mining sector will benefit greatly from the crowd sourced funding instead of raising funds through a select few VCs,” he elaborated.

According to BGF, it aims to create a standardised and trackable model which will help create a more fruitful and long lasting relationship between business owners and their clientele, creating further business opportunities and a healthy flow of capital in an economy.

Since inception, BGF has raised over US$4.4 million.

Image Credit: audioundwerbung / 123RF Stock Photo

—

Want to be part of the ecosystem?

Register for your Echelon Asia Summit access pass now! Enjoy additional 10% discount on Echelon Asia Summit Startup, Investor and Corporate passes just for being our favourite 27 reader: e27.co/echelon/asia/register/?code=EMPOWER10

The post This Blockchain-based VC fund lets any individual become a startup investor appeared first on e27.