StartEngine Now Accepts Bitcoin – Equity Crowdfunding Platform
A U.S. based equity crowdfunding platform, StartEngine has announced that it has started accepting investment contributions in bitcoin. The platform which was Founded in 2014 has launched various ICOs and has helped raise capital for more than 150 startups.
According to the Regulation Crowdfunding rules presented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a funding portal must collaborate with a bank so that investors’ money can be stored in escrow until the startup that is using the funding portal has reached its minimum target. Thus, StartEngine has partnered with Prime Trust, a Nevada-based bank, to help fulfill this condition.
Prime Trust will apart from storing also convert bitcoins into U.S. dollars, making it the first bank to support bitcoin and protect crypto investors, according to a statement from the firm. Using this feature, businesses can raise a maximum of $1.7 million per year.
Howard Marks, CEO of StartEngine, wrote that this would eliminate the risk of any hacking incident in the future. He said:
“One of biggest hurdles for any company handling Bitcoin is the risk that the handler can be hacked, in which case the investor loses all of their money. Think of Mt Gox and the dozens of websites or ‘exchanges’ that were hacked. They had no custodian of the assets and no insurance, so when they were hacked, the Bitcoin was gone. End of story.”