Lokalize

What is Lokalize

Blockchain technology has taken the world by storm and is the foundation for all Cryptocurrencies, Crypto Tokens and Smart Contracts. It has enabled us for the first time, the ability to create, store and transfer value between parties, without the need to establish trust or use 3rd party intermediaries. In the case of Smart Contracts, we can now even create, distribute and run decentralized apps which run exactly as programmed, without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or 3rd party interference. Beginning in 2009 with the introduction of Bitcoin, the world’s first Cryptocurrency, the Blockchain market has evolved through numerous stages and the general public’s perception has gone from extreme skepticism, to acceptance and near-hysteria as alternative coins, also known as altcoins began emerging at an exponential rate.

At present, there are approximately 1,600 different tokens including the original Bitcoin. The total market capitalization of all tokens combined is more than 250 billion USD, having peaked at more than 800 billion USD earlier this year. Although staggering, we believe this is just the tip of the iceberg and the potential size of this market is many times greater. Most of these new tokens came about by way of a Token Generation Event or TGE.

The benefits offered by creating new, purpose made tokens are huge and are being taken advantage of by many large, well-funded international organizations including national governments. The reasons for doing so include raising additional capital, providing loyalty rewards and making it easier and more efficient to transact with them. Yet, on a global basis, there are literally hundreds of millions of smaller companies which could also benefit from having their own tokens but cannot do so for a variety of reasons. These include lack of knowledge, expertise and/or capital requirements needed to get listed on one or more of the well-respected international exchange platforms. This is the market segment that Lokalize aims to target. Specifically, the Small to Medium Sized Enterprise or SME, which is a segment often overlooked when new technologies emerge. The Lokalize TGE Platform will provide a global solution to create tokens and run a successful TGE. It will be aimed at SMEs and business owners around the world yet operated on a country-by-country basis. It will enable traders from anywhere in the world to buy, sell or use those tokens.

Commencing with our test market in South, East and South Eastern Asia, we aim to quickly scale the platform out country-by-country. The result will be a TGE launch and token exchange platform accessible on a global scale but operated at a local level. The associated Cryptocurrency, Lokal (LOKAL), will be the token used internally to pay for TGE launching, token listing, trading and withdrawal fees, and will be purchasable using Fiat currency or several other, well established Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. With the launch of the Lokalize.io TGE website and the publication of this document, we aim to commence the private sales stage of the Lokalize TGE in order to build and launch the platform.

Introduction to Token Generation Events

Token Generation Events, or TGEs can be a tremendous source of capital for startup companies wishing to avoid the costs of regulatory compliance and intermediaries such as venture capitalists, banks and stock exchanges. Likewise, for established companies wishing to raise more capital, or offer a customer loyalty rewards program with greater efficiency and security than traditional means, a branded token could just well be the solution. Beginning with the first TGE in 2013 held by Mastercoin (now known as Omni), raising approximately 2.3 million USD at the time, the TGE concept really gained traction in 2017. By the end of that year, TGEs had raised 40 times the amount raised by TGEs only one-year prior, amounting to more than 6.3 billion USD. This is however, less than 4% of the capital raised by traditional, stock market based Initial Public Offerings.

By 2018, the TGE market had really heated up. Presently, there are more than 50 new TGEs a month and at least 30 sites tracking TGEs. Many more global entrepreneurs are poised to try and hit it big by creating a new token. Despite the enthusiasm however, there is an air of uncertainty as national regulators scramble to try and make sense of it all and global media kingpins including Facebook, Twitter and Google ban Cryptocurrency related advertising. The cat is out of the bag and there is little doubt in most peoples’ minds that Blockchain technology and the related Cryptocurrency and Crypto Token space is here to stay and will continue to grow. We firmly believe that the size of this market has the potential to grow many times larger than its current size. However, we also understand that the current model is not sustainable, and some changes need to be implemented in order for this growth to continue and the benefits of the technology to impact the masses.