Global real estate platform Wealth Migrate has opted to delay the launch of the company’s first initial coin offering (ICO) by three weeks to ensure that the company abides by all the necessary financial regulations, says the company’s CEO Scott Picken.

Commenting via email to Ventureburn yesterday on why the South African company did not launch the ICO for its WealthE token yesterday (14 March) as expected, Picken (pictured above) said the crowd sale is now planned to kick off on 4 April.

He added that the token’s presale is currently underway through a manual process and that so far $2.5-million has been raised from investors.

Read more: Wealth Migrate set to launch public sale of WealthE coin on 14 March

“It’s very important to us to run a successful token sale. All the right pieces must be in place to ensure security for coin purchasers on the platform is iron-clad and things operate smoothly.

Addressing the necessary regulations is behind delay in ICO says Wealth Migrate founder Scott Picken

“Additionally, it’s an ever-evolving regulatory environment and we have done everything possible to ensure (that) we are compliant.

“This has inevitably led to some delays, but in this scenario it’s critical that we be thorough and not rush the process as our customers are our top priority,” said Picken.

Still no online tracker

There is however no web link currently on Wealth Migrate’s website to track the track the progress of the pre-sale ICO and Picken said the company is in the final stages of rolling out a website, which will include an online tracker.

The company initially held a “pre-pre token sale” which was set to conclude when $1-million had been raised or by 15 December 2017 whichever is earlier.

Picken explained that this offering was not open to the public. “The $1-million cap has now been exceeded and we are now officially in the Pre-Sale phase. We have raised $2.5-million to-date,” he confirmed.

The pre-sale will run until 4 April or until $10 million is raised whichever is earlier.

‘Want to demystify ICOs’

Wealth Migrate’s website states that the ICO will run from the end of the pre-sale to May 21st, 2018 or until $30-million is raised, whichever is earlier.

Picken explained that similar to traditional, multi-round fundraising, the pre-sale and pre-pre-sale phases of a token sale often involve select investors who are willing to invest early to help fund the costs of rolling out the digital token, including costs of the public sale or crowdsale.

“We completely understand that there is some confusion about the ICO space in general and we want to help demystify crypto for the public, and help people better understand what to look for in an ICO. We are aware of the scandals and also that this is a very new, fast-moving and ever-changing,” he added.

Picken however stressed that the WealthE coin is different than most digital tokens — in that Wealth Migrate is an existing business, with existing revenues and members from 111 countries and investors from 44 countries “who have invested $69-million and facilitated over $485-million in real estate investments, all on the blockchain”.

David Orban to speak at events

He said in an effort to promote understanding of cryptocurrency, blockchain and ICOs, Wealth Migrate is hosting three events later this month throughout South Africa with crypto-visionary, David Orban (see here for more details).

“Transparency is one of Wealth Migrate’s key driving factors and we believe that it is important for people to be informed and understand how token sales work, particularly because it is a complex, multi-layered process.

“This knowledge will help individuals protect themselves in the fast-moving crypto-economy and will help them make wise, secure investment decisions,” he said.

Picken maintains that the blockchain is going to have a bigger impact on people’s lives than the internet did over the last 20 years.

“It is essential people learn about this and why we have a global authority coming to South African to share.

“The WealthE Coin has been designed to solve the wealth gap – the greatest challenge on the planet, by helping the 99% invest like the 1%. It is all our responsibility to make this happen in our lifetime,” says Picken.

Featured image: Scott Picken via Twitter