Security Token Startup Polymath Locks up 75 Million Tokens
Polymath, a company best known for advancing the idea of security tokens (those designed explicitly to fit under current securities laws), revealed to CoinDesk that it is locking up 75 million of its POLY tokens. Polymath raised $58.7 million using a simple agreement for future tokens in January 2018, according to a filing with the SEC. According to Housser, 57 percent of the locked-up tokens will come from those designated for the company and 18 percent will come from those designated for the founders.
Per the terms of POLY’s smart contract, tokens are released for use periodically through 2022, but the team is redirecting part of these to a new smart contract that will hold them until January 1, 2024. Users spend POLY tokens on the Polymath platform during the process of launching new security tokens. The company says 75 tokens have been created using the platform so far.
Limiting token releases or treasury payouts has been viewed positively by the industry. The Beijing-based team building the Nebulas blockchain announced last August that it locked up founders tokens for a decade, though it subsequently laid off 60 percent of its staff. Housser wrote of Polymath:
“We as a company and founders are committed to the project long-term.”
