Binance Backing First Decentralized Bank in Malta
According to the latest news reports, Binance, the globe’s second biggest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume, is investing in the world’s first decentralized bank in Malta which would have tokenized ownership.
This future bank, named Founders Bank, would be owned by equity token investors and will be based out of Malta, the island nation known for its transparent as well as robust cryptocurrency regulations.
World’s First
This project is targeting becoming the world’s first ever Blockchain based, community owned bank.
Before Founders Bank can launch its operations, it will need to get a license to operate from the Maltese government as per the European Union laws. This currently does not seem like it is going to be an issue. A junior minister from the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta, Silvio Schembri stated that Malta was honored to be chosen to be the place where the world’s first global decentralized, community-owned bank would be established.
A bigger hurdle, however, will be getting the necessary approvals from the European Central Bank (ECB). According to ADM Investor Services International global strategist, Marc Ostwald, the concept of this bank is fascinating, however, the success of it will depend on how regulators – especially the ECB – will view this innovative idea.
Investing in the Bank and Its Planned ICO
Binance revealed that it has already taken a 5% stake in Founders Bank along with other investors such as Neufund. The pre-money valuation of the future bank has been set at €133 million (~$155 million).
This bank’s owners will be given legally binding equity tokens for their investments in the company. The platform that they are planning to use for this bank’s Equity Token Offering (ETO) is the Blockchain-based equity fundraiser, Neufund.
The offering will be conducted according to German regulations and will be done in partnership with one of the biggest stock exchanges in Europe, whose name hasn’t been made public yet. The way the offering is designed, all participants in the initial offering will become co-owners of the bank, making it the first real community-owned bank.
Michael Bianchi, the co-founder of the bank, will lead the project as its Chairman. The rest of the team working towards making Founders Bank and operational reality are Andre Eggert, Jonathan Gowen, Dr. Abdalla Kablan, Pavel Bodark, Martin Bruncko, Sonal Kadchha and Paula Pandolfino. All of them come from blue chip companies such as JP Morgan, Barclays, the European Commission, Deloitte, the World Bank, Deutsche Bank and OECD.
The company is expected to reveal more details about Founders Bank’s upcoming equity token offering in the new few weeks.