Token sales in the blockchain community are an alternative financing method utilized by thousands of companies to source crowd-funded capital for their projects. In 2017, token sales raised over $6.3 billion and continued to surge in 2018 with over $9 billion in funding in the first half of the year.

Given the rise in popularity of token sales, there has been an influx of interest from both new and established companies. Central to token sales is the concept of tokenization, or utilizing a token within a platform, decentralized application, or infrastructure project to achieve a utility. Utilities can be the facilitation of payments or incentivization for various participants in a company’s ecosystem.

As we filter through hundreds of new projects, some stick out due to their business models, token utilities, or innovative concepts that hope to redefine industry standards. Here are fifteen token sales that caught our eye, in no particular order.

Overview of the 15 Companies

RAVN: the world’s first invisible and 100% anonymous and encrypted messaging app. Hilo: social network and community for cryptocurrency traders. BitScreener: one of the most trusted real-time crypto-tracking platforms. ADBIT: world’s first blockchain media buying platform for traditional media. Goldilock: remote crypto key custody and digital asset storage and security. Akash Network: blockchain-powered open marketplace for Cloud Infrastructure. HireFreeHands: workplace for the future, sustained and driven by a global community. OPP Open WiFi: global community-driven network of free WiFi hotspots and hosts. Tip Blockchain: making cryptocurrency user friendly for both merchants and users. Loyakk: tokenized data container for secure business interactions and transactions. Inmusik: building the global music economy on the blockchain. Ternion: triad ecosystem with an exchange, payment processor, and fund. Triwer: revolutionary blockchain-based parcel delivery platform. Epik Token: the future of digital collectibles used to purchase virtual goods. FlipNPik: collaborative social media dedicated to local businesses.

1. RAVN

RAVN is the world’s first and only invisible and 100% anonymous and encrypted messaging app. It solves today's out of control privacy issues for everyone, from average Joe’s to high-profile celebs, securing everyone's data locally only on their phone.

Later in its evolution, it will offer Stellar-based smart contract functionality with its Korrax cryptocurrency utility token for RAVNPay, RAVNBet, RAVNLotto and RAVNWallet, all operating within the stealth and unprecedentedly private messenger app. RAVN is not tied to your phone number or email and you only sign up with a username that isn’t searchable. RAVN is against bullying and clearly are big fans of true privacy. What happens in RAVN, stays in RAVN.

Clearly these aspects are why RAVN is a promising token sale to behold but also quite the innovation given the current events of mega data breaches and citizens’ private information making others large profits. RAVN is the ultimate protective messenger app with global scalability.

2. Hilo

Hilo is a social network for crypto which synthesizes information, news, public opinion, and supports people in learning about the future of money. Hilo is also a platform for beginners, experts, and influencers to share resources and information. Within Hilo, users will be able to follow along and invest in cryptocurrencies with friends and influencers.

Hilo will offer many features including a real-time dashboard to check cryptocurrency prices, private groups to share secure communications, an educational newsfeed and games, a trade analyzer, and industry alerts. The dynamic platform would be the first of its kind in the cryptocurrency industry to effectively bridge the gap between potential new crypto users and traders that are experienced. With a focus on community and education, the project is launching at the perfect time given the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies around the world.

Hilo has already formed valuable partnerships with leading investors and companies such as Civic, GenesisBlock, Ledger, Bounty0X, Orchid, and Venture Coin.

3. BitScreener

BitScreener is one of the most trusted real-time crypto-tracking platforms available on iOS, Android, and Web. Launched in 2017, it currently has 50,000 daily active users, mostly in North America and Europe. Its iOS App is in top 100 financial apps in more than 30 countries with more than 45,000 reviews and ratings around the world. There are hundreds of thousands of investment portfolios built on its platform.

Based on such a large user base, BitScreener is in a bid to build a financial data marketplace for professional traders and financial researchers to monetize their portfolio information, investment tractions, and trading knowledge. It will leverage blockchain technology to innovate the financial content and data delivery industry valued at more than $50 billion for both new digital currencies and traditional equity markets.

More information on BitScreener Apps and its token sale can be found at BitScreener’s website or token sale site.

4. ADBIT

The ADBIT token will be the core function of CIINCH Media Marketplace, the world's first blockchain powered media planning and buying platform for traditional media assets such as Television, Radio, Out of Home and Print media. Founded by agency industry veteran Aaron Monks out of Sydney Australia, CIINCH and ADBIT were created to help automate the multiple layers of manual processes that currently plague the industry.

While digital media has experienced a boom in growth, traditional media has failed to innovate and is currently very fragmented and operating on legacy software that was developed in the 90’s. The CIINCH Media Marketplace aims to resolve these issues.

Buyers and sellers can transact in a trustless marketplace powered by blockchain and smart contracts - helping reduce the massive inefficiencies that are currently present in the industry on all sides. The ADBIT Token will be the atomic unit of currency used by buyers and sellers to transact, enabling seamless reconciliation of contracts reducing the need to use antiquated third-party accounting platforms. This will create a better world for buyers, sellers, and agencies.

5. Goldilock

Goldilock addresses both consumer and institutional concerns around crypto custody and security by offering a remote airgap custody solution that is also scalable. With a functioning platform launched in Q2 of 2018, the Goldilock Security Suite leverages multi-factor authentication, biometrics, regressive technology triggers, and cryptography to shift the burden of securing crypto wallets and other digital assets away from the owner and onto Goldilock’s physically-segregated and vaulted platform.

The backbone of the Goldilock Security Suite is a patent-pending, remotely activated airgap security solution for cryptocurrency key custody and storage of sensitive digital assets. The solution relies on a user-controlled non-IP trigger signal to toggle the physical connection of individual encrypted nodes and bring them online immediately, and bank-level security to access data on the encrypted device over the internet via traditional means once that connection is active for periodic use.

The experienced team has already signed up partnerships with a number of larger crypto exchanges and digital identification custody holders.

6. Akash Network

Overclock Labs' latest project, The Akash Network, creates the world's biggest cloud by joining idle datacenter capacity in an open, decentralized marketplace for enterprise-grade compute workloads. Companies all over the globe run their own colocated and on-premise data centers, but they’re notoriously underutilized, with server capacity just sitting idle. Meanwhile, hyperscale providers charge top dollar to their cloud infrastructure customers.

Akash solves both these problems with an integrated blockchain-based marketplace and container-native deployment platform. Providers install the Akash agent to register server capacity in the marketplace, then programmatically bid to host workloads, with low bid winning the auction. Workloads are then securely distributed off-chain in Linux containers. Once a workload is live, Akash tokens are transferred on chain from tenant to provider.

Because all marketplace transactions and adverse events are public on the blockchain, Akash replaces blind trust in a single provider with evidence-based assurance of quality. And the platform’s industry-standard Docker/Kubernetes toolset means companies enjoy marketplace-driven cost savings with no technical, architectural, or behavioral changes for DevOps.

7. Hirefreehands

Hirefreehands, a decentralized marketplace, creates a flawless environment for maximum functionality and assurance for freelancers not also demeaning the protection of the utmost interests of its clients. With the combination of blockchain technology and their cutting edge features such as the price Regulation Algorithm (PRA), freelancers as well as clients alike are assured of a better, efficient, and innovative platform.

Sunkanmi Ola, the CEO of Hirefreehands, who was recently featured in the Forbes Africa Under 30 CEO, has this to say about Hirefreehands, “Our vision for Hirefreehands is to build the workplace of the future, not just a service marketplace, where clients can work with affordable top quality talent in a simple and secure platform, and where every skilled digital freelancer can earn fair value for their work”.

The Hirefreehands token (HFT) is a ERC-20 utility token designed to be used by both the clients and freelancers within the Hirefreehands platform.

8. OPP Open WiFi

OPP Open WiFi is a community-driven service with the sole purpose of creating a global, free to access open WiFi hotspot network and rewarding each contributor on the platform. Wi-Fi access has become part of our daily lives. Yet amazingly 76% of us frequently find ourselves in a position where access is not available, or where access is blocked by a demand for payment.

From the 2.5 billion smartphone users globally, OPP Open WiFi aims to recruit 25 million people over the next 4 years to join its community of “Hotspot Hosts”. Together, their goal is to build a free to access, open and secure global decentralized WiFi hotspot which will have a positive effect on the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people.

To begin hosts will need to download the mobile application. To fuel growth, OPP Open WiFi is giving away the first 100,000 routers free of charge. After instillation, the user can decide how much data to donate within the completely secure system. After a minimum of one hour per day, hosts will begin to make money with OPP tokens.

9. Tip Blockchain

Tip Blockchain is on a mission to give consumers access to the $25 trillion they didn’t know they had access to. When someone buys coffee, gets a haircut or eats out at a restaurant, the offline data that's being created tells the story of who that person is.

Tip is creating a marketplace where users are incentivized to share the data of how they interact with businesses in the offline world and that make the data available for businesses to discover new ways of engaging customers. Users will have the chance to earn money in exchange for nuanced data that will help merchants. The one-stop-shop platform will allow all transactions to happen on the platform itself, making cryptocurrency much more user friendly than currently experienced.

Tip is coming out of the gate with major partnerships including Bancor, Coinfirm, Trustroot, and more. The token sale will run from July 13 - Aug 20.

10. Loyakk

Loyakk is a Top 10 Blockchain Solution Vendor and is set to launch the world's first tokenized data container to enable businesses to track and secure their business data across their business network. Loyakk will usher in a world where a company can follow their business data everywhere: company and country boundaries will now be irrelevant.

The basis for this platform - built with patent-pending blockchain technology - is Loyakk's Data Token which holds, protects and tracks critical business data as it leaves the company’s firewall. Billions of dollars in data leaks, reconciliation costs and contract disputes are persistent challenges and the Loyakk Vega Enterprise Relationship Management platform is designed to address these issues. Loyakk’s transformative approach will accelerate and streamline complex deals and projects involving multiple parties, minimise disputes and offer a secure and permissioned sharing of data and value.

The world of Enterprise Applications and Blockchain are being melded in a very new and unique manner to create a blockchain platform for decentralised business networks, meaning that first-joiners get in on the ground floor with their token offering. The Loyakk team has run multi-billion dollar businesses and comes from blue-chip giants such as SAP, Oracle, VmWare, IBM and eTrade.

11. Inmusik

Inmusik is an ecosystem based on a blockchain database that supports the music industry, streaming, and social interaction, with cryptocurrency rewards and a financial framework on which future music industry applications can be built.

The platform is a fusion of concepts from music streaming and social media which includes community curation, verification and transparent payouts to both content owners and contributing listeners and fans. Enabling a fair market economy for an industry built on all types of music assets requires a system capable of easily accounting every users’ contribution.

Inmusik’s token is the first cryptocurrency that attempts to accurately and transparently enable an industry to thrive in this new digital age, while rewarding its users for their subjective contributions to the ecosystem and enabling a host of applications not yet imagined. The system is designed to mathematically recognize contributions and automatically pay users, all built on a viable and sustainable business model.

12. Ternion

Ternion is a platform that is based on a triad ecosystem that was designed on a working business model. The first ever audited, regulated and soon to be licensed Ternion Exchange will give access to a reliable fiat-crypto trading.

The Ternion Payment Processor will satisfy vendors who want to receive fiat and customers who want to utilise cryptocurrency for goods and services. The Liquidity Fund is the backbone of the other two entities, it will sustain liquidity in the exchange and the payment system. Ternion realizes the importance of legal regulations and prioritizes accountability and transparency by being KYC and AML compliant and showing real results.

The Ternion token sale is the first token sale to release a demo version with the same general principles of trading as the final version of the Ternion Exchange before the Pre-sale. The team is building a strong and stable community and platform with the help and guidance of their experienced team members and advisors.

13. Triwer

Triwer is a Blockchain tech company that has launched its first crowd token sale earlier this month. Triwer is developing a revolutionary parcel delivery platform aiming to disrupt the traditionally closed industry and change its impact on the environment. By tackling core issues and inefficiencies, Triwer will reduce the carbon footprint of the parcel and courier express delivery industry and make the world greener, one parcel at a time.

Triwer empowers online shoppers and businesses to take full control of their shipments and enables full price transparency through their built-in price comparison engine, making shoppers always get the best delivery option for their personal needs. With a key focus on green tech, Triwer addresses current inefficiencies and bottlenecks in the Courier Express Parcel Market (CEPM), allowing logistics companies and couriers to cross-integrate and make better use of spare capacity.

Triwer offers price comparison, community concepts, real-time last mile tracking, security and transparency using blockchain technology and smart contracts, lowest carbon footprint delivery option, and the simple peace of mind that your parcel won’t go missing. Triwer’s mission is to be the preferred choice for SME e-commerce businesses and their customers in Europe and Asia by 2020 and to create an industry-wide synergy in shared capacity usage through its platform.

14. Epik Token

The EPIK token just came out of stealth and is projected to become the biggest platform on blockchain, with a goal of being the Amazon of digital goods. EPIK tokens are the future of digital collectibles and are used to purchase limited edition virtual goods.

These digital goods (aka “EPIK” items) are a cool new idea of game makers creating collaborations with brands and then selling them inside of popular games. From anime to super heroes to luxury goods, the kinds of branded items that can be created are limitless.

What stands out about this token sale is that within months this startup already has a working product, traction (1,000+ brands, millions of users), an all-star celebrity team, and a revenue model that works. Their is potential that in the near future millions of people will be using EPIK tokens inside of their favorite games to collect unique in-game and in-app items. The fact that within the EPIK mobile app users can view all of their precious items in any game at anytime means that you could soon be seeing people showing them off to everyone everywhere.

15. FlipNpik

FlipNpik is the first collaborative social media platform dedicated to local business which has been created not only to benefit companies and organisations but also to benefit the local community and the economy as a whole. FlipNpik aims to bring together local businesses and service providers in a 360 Ecosystem in order to increase visibility, drive business and assist with their marketing efforts to enable businesses to compete within the global e-commerce market.

Anything but just another loyalty program, FlipNpik will create mutually beneficial partnerships to create revenue which will be shared between collaborators and the local community. FlipNpik has launched its token sale in order to integrate blockchain technology with its FNP application - which will help to improve its international deployment and, therefore, offer a more accessible and affordable business solution.

Led by Henri Harland, entrepreneurial pioneer and former CEO of several listed companies which he built from the ground up, Henri is uniquely positioned to lead FlipNpik on its trailblazing mission.