Why Is 2019 Marked by an Increase in Blockchain Companies Expanding in Asia?

Table of Contents

• GRAM token’s debut on the Asian market
• Under the flag of Jolly Roger: AzBit Project
• IEO Roobee under the aegis of Artem Popov
• Value of Asian exchanges for IEO in 2019

The Asian region is of great importance to the cryptocurrency industry. The key reason for that is Bitcoin mining capacity, a significant part of which is concentrated in China. Bitmain, the world’s leading manufacturer of ASIC mining chips, is headquartered in Beijing, while the number of cryptocurrency companies located in Singapore and Hong Kong is unlikely to be countable. 

Asia has also taken the lead in everything related to cryptocurrency trading. The majority of large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, OKEx, Huobi, Bitfinex, Kucoin, BitForex, Liquid are located in the Asian region alongside influential investment funds like Pantera Capital and Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Assets Fund. 

These are probably the main reasons why the most progressive blockchain projects are actively using the developed Asian infrastructure in 2019.

GRAM token’s debut on the Asian market

The Telegram Open Network (TON) project, associated with Pavel Durov, the creator of the eponymous messenger, hasn't been leaving the main pages of the world's most famous news websites for a year now. Significantly enough, cryptocurrency media outlets are not the only ones writing about TON. The news about the billion users messenger has spread across the world, making the headlines of such outlets like NYTimes, WSJ, and Bloomberg. 

Accompanied by highly controversial information and rumors, GRAM futures and derivatives were sold on the Liquid and BitForex exchanges. As media reported, the exchanges were satisfied with the results of sales, although no clarity about the project appeared. Notably, these sales can't be called the TON’s IEO since its token wasn't officially sold on any exchange. As a result, a new term appeared - IFO (Initial Futures Offering).

Under the flag of Jolly Roger: AzBit Project

Roger Ver is a hotly debated figure in the cryptocurrency world. Naturally, the project he was involved in couldn't ignore the Asian market. As early as May 30, Azbit announced that first stage of IEO would start on the BitForex exchange in July 2019. Headquartered in Hong Kong, this exchange is likely to offer the most suitable terms for launching IEOs. The project itself is engaged in the deployment of banking infrastructure using blockchain technologies, combining traditional financial instruments and cryptocurrencies.

The need to develop and deploy a modern infrastructure that makes two financial systems collaborate is undeniable. Anyway, the community will have to wait until the legislation on the cryptocurrency regulation is introduced.

IEO Roobee under the aegis of Artem Popov

This project is well-known for attracting the attention of Bitcoin whales in May 2019. According to CCN, Roobee received a 200 BTC investment from a large whale, which closed one of the private rounds instantly. Like TON and Azbit founders, Artem Popov considered the strategic importance of promotion in the Asian market, so he launched a large-scale marketing campaign in that region. After Roobee tokens were sold on Bitforex and Exmo, Roobee launched its third IEO round on Japan’s Liquid exchange, which will last till September 30. The date of token listing on Bitforex is already known and by the end of September Roobee token will also appear on Exmo and Kucoin.

As a result, the choice of the Asian market for offering services allowed Roobee to hold three rounds of IEO and list its tokens on the largest exchanges in Europe and Asia.

Roobee has a strong partner in the Asian market, Krypital Group, which previously worked with such projects as Egretia, Cybermiles, Arcblock, Merculet. Egretia showed good results at the start, allowing its first investors to multiply their equity: the token has grown more than tenfold of the USD price in a private round and shown 26.9X growth against ETH. The partnership was announced by the investment fund in its official Twitter account.

Value of Asian exchanges for IEO in 2019

All three projects have chosen the similar direction in building their marketing strategy in the Asian market, in particular, in cooperation with Asian exchanges such as Bitforex, Liquid, and others. The latter made the global media headlines after the announcement of GRAM derivatives sale. Despite the ambiguous legal status of cryptocurrency in Japan, Liquid is in a great demand among traders and investors. In general, Bitforex and Liquid have not yet joined the top 10 exchanges in daily trading volume, but most likely they will be able to reach the values already in 2020.

Along with the growing demand for IEO, Asian exchanges are increasing the number of requirements for projects to protect their users and the crypto community as a whole.

Liu Wei, Commercial Director at IDAX Exchange, said:

“Our IEO review process is very strict. For the current market, we do not agree that all projects are in the IEO process. Quality projects can create value for this market rather than defrauding funds. In our opinion, in addition to raising funds, the purpose of IEO is to help the project team establish a brand in this market and let more users know about this project.” 

Meanwhile, discussions regarding the cryptocurrency regulation are ongoing in Asian countries. The Chinese government is seriously concerned not only with the unrest in Hong Kong but also with the launch of national digital money. Japan continues to improve its legislation, defining cryptocurrencies as crypto assets and protecting investors against fraudulent schemes.