#ICO Review: Globitex (GBX) - Institutional Grade Bitcoin Exchange
Globitex is a cryptocurrency exchange, fostering the development of Bitcoin as currency for global trade.
Project website: https://www.globitexico.com/
White paper: https://www.globitexico.com/wp.pdf
Today I am going to take a look at a new ICO called Globitex, which is aiming to bring a new and exciting kind of exchange to the world of cryptocurrencies.
Now you may be thinking that the market is already quite saturated with crypto exchanges and there are new ones popping up all the time, not to mention talk of decentralised exchanges, atomic swaps and more.
But Globitex are planning to deliver some elements that no other exchanges offer and to do something that would really shake up the world of Bitcoin. They are thinking BIG.
Basically the major goal for Globitex is to have an exchange where you can trade Bitcoin for real-world commodities like gold, silver, corn and oil. Just imagine being able to swap your Bitcoin for actual gold!
This will be in addition to the more traditional forms of exchange like forex and between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies as well as between different cryptos. Plus they aim to have Bitcoin futures, swaps and options on the platform, so it will be a pretty comprehensive trading experience.
The team behind it looks very strong and that should give them a good chance of succeeding, but I will have a look at that and the ICO in more detail below.
What does the company/project do?
GBX tokens will primarily be used for the settlement of trades on the Globitex exchange and serving as a commission payment token. All registered clients of the Globitex exchange will be able to redeem GBX tokens as payment for commissions on their trades.
GBX tokens will also function within loyalty programs planned for Globitex clients and contributors, where the contributors will be participating in the company’s overall success.
Initially, the tokens will be subject to a premium of no less than 20%. For example, at the price of 0.10 EUR = 1 GBX, the client using GBX will enjoy a bonus of 0.10*120% = 0.12 EUR per 1 GBX. Over time, depending on company success, the bonus will increase to stimulate utilization of GBX tokens.
Redeemed GBX tokens are intended to be burned, permanently removing them from circulation.
Globitex expects GBX to have a 10-year lifetime, during which tokens can be redeemed and loyalty programs and other success-related benefits enacted.
As GBX tokens are used as a commission payment token, it should become more valuable as the Globitex exchange has more trading volume.
What Globitex is All About
As I say, Globitex is an exchange that will allow people to trade Bitcoin for a host of other derivatives.
The exchange is already up and running and you can go and test it here. It is high quality and professional with a clean, crisp look to it that is in contrast to a lot of the other cryptocurrency exchanges out there. This is not just another bog-standard cryptocurrency exchange but an institutional-grade Bitcoin exchange.
At the moment it just has the Bitcoin/Euro and Bitcoin Cash/Euro trading pairs, but there are big plans to add a whole range of other pairs in the future.
Here are the items they intend to add to the exchange and when they estimate these will be added:-
Q1 2018 — Launch of other cryptocurrency trading pairs
Q2 2018 — Launch of additional fiat trading pairs (i.e. forex)
Q1 2019 — Bitcoin Settled Commodity Futures
Q2 2019 — Cryptocurrency futures, swaps and vanilla options
Q3 2019 — Bitcoin Priced Commodity Index
Q3 2019 — Bitcoin to physically deliverable precious metals
Q4 2019 — Bitcoin to physically deliverable other commodities
So as you can see, quite an awesome list there in terms of what they plan to add to the trading platform.
The only downside I can see is that some of the more impressive aspects of the roadmap won’t be delivered until 2019, but that is not unusual for an ambitious ICO like this and the main thing is that they deliver it successfully. If they do it will be worth the wait.
Imagine the impact it could have on Bitcoin to have it tradable with physical commodities. It would mean a fundamental economic shift in terms of integrating Bitcoin and other digital currencies into the mainstream financial world. It could act as a real game-changer.
What are the tokens used for and how can token holders make money?
In order to access the Sentinel Chain platform, users will have to use SENC tokens. SENC tokens are primarily used as a medium of exchange for LCT, which is then used to make payments for services or participate in projects.
No other cryptocurrencies will be utilized on the marketplace, so as the platform grows in popularity, so should the demand for the token.
Opportunities
– Cryptocurrency exchanges that provide fiat on-ramp is a lot more difficult to operate than crypto-to-crypto exchanges due to regulation and compliance. Globitex is able to accept fiat deposit, which makes it stand out among most other cryptocurrency exchanges.
– Globitex is looking to provide much more than just cryptocurrency trading. Products including money markets, repo, futures, swaps, and options are tools that are used heavily by institutional investors. This is another way Globitex can differentiate against the competition.
– There is a burning mechanism for the token supply, so the token price can appreciate even if the value of the tokens as a whole do not increase.
Globitex will also have customizable screens and graphs on their exchange, much like you have for stockmarket platforms such as MT4. They will also have a high quality API for algorithmic traders that will be fast and efficient.
Overall this looks like an awesome project and if they can deliver it not only would it be a tremendous success for Globitex but it would be likely to have a significant impact on Bitcoin’s growth.
ICO Details
The pre-sale has already been completed and was sold out.
The public token sale begins on 10th February 2018 and the hard cap will be €10m.
The standard token price for Globitex Tokens (GBX) will be €0.10.
The minimum contribution will be €10 and the maximum will be €3m.
There is a bonus of 10% for the first 5 million Globitex Tokens sold and a bonus of 5% for the next 10 million sold.
In terms of the token distribution, 65% will be distributed to participants in the token sale whilst 35% will be maintained for the company.
I understand residents of the USA will not be able to participate in the token sale.
Given the relatively low hard cap and the quality of the project, I expect this token sale to sell out — and possibly fairly quickly.
You can check out the ICO here.
Token Purpose
Globitex Tokens will be usable to cover commission payments for the trades made on the Globitex platform.
All registered clients of the Globitex exchange will be able to redeem GBX tokens as payment for commissions.
There will be an initial premium on the tokens of at least 20%, such that if for example one GBX = €0.10, then if you use GBX for trades you will receive GBX 1 = EUR 0.10 + 20%. This bonus is likely to increase over time depending on the project’s success.
You can find more details about the token in the White Paper.
The Globitex Team
The quality of a team is crucial as to whether a project can be delivered successfully.
Thankfully the Globitex team looks first class and has exactly the kind of skills I would expect to see for this kind of venture.
Here are the some key members of the team:-
Liza Aizupiete, Managing Director — executive roles in Asset Management with MTG Capital Group. Previously worked in research and fund management with one of the leading Swiss microfinance institutions — Symbiotics.
Jon Matonis, Chairman — formerly Executive Director and a Founding Board Member for the Bitcoin Foundation; as well as Managing Director for the Lydia Group; and worked as the CEO and Board Director of Network Inference, and before with Hush Communications.
Arvis Ermins — previously worked for Deloitte & Touche Latvia and the Constitutional Court of Latvia. Was a founding partner of MTG group.
Mark O’Byrne — research director of GoldCore which he founded in 2003. He is a leading international gold expert and a respected speaker on precious metals, investments, markets, geo-politics, finance, fintech and money.
There are twelve team members in total listed on the Globitex website and as you can see from the list above, they have an impressive range of skills listed.
Of particular note is the inclusion of Jon Matonis, a huge figure in the crypto world having been a founding board member of the Bitcoin Foundation. Having his presence at the company is a big plus and should give them a good chance of achieving their goals.
Perhaps it is not the biggest team I have seen in an ICO, but I have the impression it is the right size for the scale of project they are intending to deliver and they will be able to draw upon additional skills and expertise if required and will have the right connections to do so.
Conclusion — An Exchange with a Difference
When I first heard about Globitex, I thought “oh no, not another cryptocurrency exchange!” but actually this is an exchange with a difference.
They are thinking big and want to deliver something that would be quite revolutionary. If you could trade Bitcoin for actual physically deliverable commodities like gold it would be amazing and would make a significant impact on the adoption of Bitcoin into the wider economy.
They will also have a very broad range of pairs tradable on the exchange, with everything from forex to options, futures and of course crypto-to-crypto.
Plus the Globitex platform is a high-quality, institutional grade platform with the kind of tools you expect from the major stockmarket and FX platforms. That is in contrast to the majority of current crypto exchanges which tend to be quite poor in quality.
The only downside is that it will be quite a while until some of their major developments like the Bitcoin-to-commodities functionality will be available, but it is not unusual to see a long roadmap for an ambitious ICO like this.
The key question is whether they can deliver the roadmap and I believe they have the right skills to be able to do so.
So overall I think this is a really good, professional project and I will be following it closely.
I am not a Financial adviser, please do your own due diligence before investing and only
invest what you can afford.
