It does not happen all that often that cryptocurrency projects quickly raise over $100 million. Although we have seen a literal ICO craze, Intangible Labs is doing things the traditional way. Rather than rely on crowdfunding, the company has raised $133 million from private investors. This is a pretty significant deal for the Princeton University graduate-led venture.
What Exactly is Intangible Labs?
While it is commendable to see Princeton graduates show a keen interest in cryptocurrency, most people will not know the name Intangible Labs. That is not surprising, as not too much is known about this particular venture at this time. We do know the group plans to create a brand-new cryptocurrency and associated infrastructure. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, this will be another stablecoin.
For those unaware, a stablecoin is a digital asset which has its value pegged to tangible assets, such as bullion, oil, or other resources. It can also be pegged to fiat currencies such as the US dollar, euro, and so forth. In the case of Intangible Labs, the team will create a currency which will maintain a stable value in the same manner. It will be issued on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
The new token will have a built-in mechanism to keep its price stable. That seems to be in line with how USDT and TrueUSD work, although it remains a bit unclear what the currency will be pegged to exactly. A digital asset does not magically maintain its value, even though we have seen some cryptocurrencies attempt to do so. None of those currencies were widely used, though, which makes the price control aspect somewhat trivial.
With $133 million having been raised through private funding, Intangible Labs can now build the necessary infrastructure for this new digital asset. Its backers include Bain Capital Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and Google’s venture arm, among others. The demand for cryptocurrency-related investment opportunities is not slowing down by any means.
Making a positive impact in the cryptocurrency world with a stablecoin will not be easy. So far, most stablecoins have been scrutinized due to a lack of auditing and other shady practices. Whether or not Intangible Labs can address those concerns prior to launching its new token remains to be seen. For now, the team is still debating how the tokens will be issued, as there is still an option to conduct a public crowdsale despite the $133 million investment.
Additionally, it seems Intangible Labs will avoid scrutiny from the SEC due to the stable nature of this token. As it cannot go up in value, there is no room for profits to be made, and hence it is not a security token. That doesn’t mean the agency will not look into this particular venture, but there should be no regulatory issues.
