Vancouver-based iComplyICO, which offers a platform automating compliance procedures for initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other digitized assets, has received an angel investment from Conrad Whelan, a member of the founding team of Uber.
“Similar to Uber’s situation, ICOs have not been historically regulated, leading to a wild-west situation.”
A Calgary native, Whelan joined Uber in 2010 and acted as engineering manager. He was the company’s first full-time engineer, and focused on building teams for Uber related to analytics infrastructure and international product development.
The company also announced that PlentyOfFish’s lead web developer, Matt Masiar, will now act as its CTO.
“ICOs and cryptocurrencies are creating amazing opportunities to fund companies in new and interesting ways, but there is still a need for ensuring that stakeholders are treated fairly and honestly with this new kind of fundraising,” said Whelan.
Whelan got his start in a space that was not subject to regulations of its time — similar to the crypto space today. Regulators in Canada have been cautious of the space, with Canadian Securities Administrators putting out a statement reminding FinTechs to consider securities laws and work with regulatory sandboxes to ensure they complied. Kik notably excluded Canada from its ICO event due to frustration with regulation.
“Similar to Uber’s situation, ICOs have not been historically regulated, leading to a wild-west situation for investors and issuers alike,” said Matthew Unger, founder and CEO of iComplyICO. “However, governments are now beginning to adapt to innovation, developing regulations, and are testing the technology. This is going to impact how ICOs are launched, governed, investigated and how regulations are enforced, this is where iComplyICO comes in.”
iComplyICO is a blockchain-agnostic solution focusing solely on software for compliance and secondary trading. It offers no consulting, token development, or proprietary token environments.