Now you can use Indiegogo to find out how to invest in a hotel via cryptocurrency.
Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has amassed nearly 10 million investors over the past decade while launching thousands of crowdfunding projects. Back in December, it started letting its investors participate in the cryptocurrency craze by putting money into Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Federal regulators have since started cracking down on ICOs, and now Indiegogo is steering investors toward security token sales.
Indiegogo will not sell tokens itself. But it will show investors where they can buy them via its website. Security tokens are perceived to be less risky than ICOs as they are tied to an existing real asset, such as real estate, equity, bonds, or venture capital funds. The tokens use blockchain technology to enable greater market liquidity, a wider investor pool, fewer intermediaries, lower fees, and faster transaction settlement times.
In its first security token project, Indiegogo will offer its investors in 235 countries the opportunity to own a tokenized share of common stock in the St. Regis Aspen Resort via the Aspen Digital token asset offering. Indiegogo hopes to filter the security tokens for quality. This could be considered crowdfunding in terms of the way it increases access to investments that were previously only accessible to extremely high net worth individuals.
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The offering will be available directly through Templum Markets LLC, a Securities and Exchange Commission-registered broker-dealer and member of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The Aspen Coins will be tradable through Templum SEC-registered Alternative Trading System (ATS).
“We have always strived to foster innovation and provide our users access to some of the most novel and interesting products and ideas from around the world,” said Indiegogo founder Slava Rubin, in a statement. “With the blockchain revolution fully underway, we at Indiegogo are excited about the world-changing impact and potential of security tokens. Our goal is to [perform diligence for] each company and provide an access point to our growing network of millions of customers. And it’s a privilege to work with the St. Regis Aspen Resort.”
Above: Slava Rubin is founder of Indiegogo.
The St. Regis Aspen is a full-service, 179-room luxury hotel with four onsite food and beverage outlets and 29,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor conference and banquet venues with views of the Rocky Mountains. Purchased by Elevated Returns in 2010, the resort is conducting a single-asset real estate investment trust (REIT) offering, a first-of-its-kind opportunity that will apportion a minimum of $12 million for investment in security tokens. Each token of Aspen Digital represents indirect ownership through one share of common stock in the St. Regis Aspen Resort.
Accredited Investors (those with a high net worth) will be able to purchase Aspen Coins with U.S. dollars, as well as with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The St. Regis Aspen Resort is owned by a holding company and controlled by Elevated Returns, an asset management company that manages assets across a range of service industries, including hospitality, real estate, and a number of consumer brands.
Above: St. Regis Aspen
“Security token offerings are the investment tool of the future, a mechanism designed to store wealth by utilizing income-producing digital assets,” said Stephane de Baets, president of Elevated Returns, in a statement.“By opening access to investing in traditional assets like real estate, we are creating a new opportunity for investors to explore an ownership stake in something previously only accessible to private investors and high net worth individuals. Indiegogo is a well-known and trusted name in alternative funding and cryptocurrency, making them an incredible partner for us to leverage their influence, experience, and global audience.”
This security token offering will be filed under the SEC’s Reg D, Rule 506 (c), General Solicitation. This offering is open to accredited investors in the U.S. and overseas. Indiegogo takes a 5 percent commission on any sales.
