Crypto exchange Bittrex is hosting its first token sale — dubbed an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) — on Bittrex International, its Malta-based digital asset trading platform. The news was announced in an official press release published on March 11.
Bittrex International, which operates within an EU and Maltese crypto regulatory framework, will officially start the IEO on Friday, March 15, the press release announces. Bittrex users will be able to use Bitcoin (BTC) to purchase “XRD” tokens, developed by international gaming data blockchain project Raid.
According to the press release, Raid is a project that rewards gamers for sharing data,as part of a tokenized ecosystem that aims to enhance marketing and business growth and foster other improvements for gaming companies.
Bittrex CEO and co-founder Bill Shihara has said that IEOs on the platform will allow international token investors to back new blockchain projects “with the peace of mind that comes from Bittrex International regulated in Malta.”
Bittrex has outlined the details of the IEO, which will end when a hard cap of 17 billion XRD (~$6 million) is reached.
Bittrex is currently within the top 50 largest crypto exchanges globally by adjusted daily trade volume, seeing about $73 million in trades on the day to press time.
Bittrex International’s foray into token sales follows major crypto exchange Binance’s token sale platform Launchpad, which recently hosted the high-profile — and extremely swift — token sale for the Tron-based BitTorrent token (BTT) this January. The BTT sale netted $7.1 million dollars with the sale of 50 billion tokens within 15-18 minutes.
In February, Launchpad hosted a similarly speedy public token sale for AI and smart contract project Fetch.AI.