Newly incorporated Isle of Man Bitcoin company Garigus Limited, announces founding shareholders paid their shares in Bitcoin, an element qualified as a key milestone in the development of the island's Bitcoin industry.

Garigus Limited's four founding shareholders announced on October 11 they had paid their shares in Bitcoin, according to the official press release. The founders' funds are now held in a BIP32 Hierarchical Deterministic wallet, a specific type of wallet that can be shared partially or entirely with different systems, with or without the ability to spend the funds. The public keys are displayed on the incorporation documents, and the private keys are under the control of Garigus Limited, said co-founder John Middleton.

According to Middleton, this system allows the newly registered Bitcoin-centric company to acquire a level of transparency that cannot be reached with shares in fiat currencies:

"Any interested party can inspect the public records at the Isle of Man Government Companies Registry, and then check the blockchain to verify the amount and levels of funding provided by the founders when Garigus was incorporated."

Garigus Limited's founders include:

  • Freeport Trust Company Limited secretary with 15 years in the fiduciary sector John Middleton;
  • Qualified accountant and co-founder of Isle of Man incorporated Bitcoin company The Global Bitcoin Exchange (TGBEX)* Adrian Forbes;
  • Former risk consultant to the Bank of England, fixed income derivative specialist and co-founder of TGBEX* Richard Owusu;
  • International director of the Royal Chartered IT and technical advisor at the Isle of Man Government Graeme Jones.

Middleton stated:

"Following an initial discussion with Graeme about the feasibility of establishing a company in Bitcoin, I researched the requirements and prepared the documents, submitting them to the Isle of Man Companies Registry – Less than 24 hours later the incorporation documents were in my hand."

In 2006, Middleton was appointed as the director of the very first company incorporated under the Isle of Man Companies Act 2006, which was announced in August 2005. Back then, the Government had promised the creation of a new type of business friendly company that would be simple and inexpensive to administer.

The Companies Act 2006 came into effect on November 1, 2006, and has since then operated in parallel to the Companies Acts 1931 - 2004, which govern the traditional type of company.

"My appointment to company number 1 was a significant milestone,” stated the entrepreneur.  “But more than 7 years and 11,545 companies later, the establishment of Garigus Limited as company number 11546V is no less significant to the Isle of Man."

The Global Bitcoin Exchange was recently launched at the Crypto Valley Summit 2014, which occurred from September 17 to 18, and gathered more than 170 digital currency entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, as well as representatives from the public and the private sector. The event was the occasion to discuss various cryptocurrency-related topics, as well as celebrate the rather optimistic position that has taken the Isle of Man on welcoming digital currencies.