As we are all probably well aware of, since 2013, ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) have become a highly popular method of fundraising worldwide. In the past two years alone, they have raised a total of US$3 billion for various entrepreneurs and business owners, thereby forcing government agencies around the globe to analyze their security profiles and see whether they violate any existing financial laws.

Polymath is an all-new securities token platform that makes use of a blockchain-based system to provide users with tools that allow for:

• Easier coordination between potential investors so as to increase ICO participation
• The launching of financial services on the blockchain

Through the use of Polymath, the blockchain can be opened up to legally-compliant securities offerings. It provides users with a decentralized protocol that ensures seamless trading of security tokens, as well as a privacy module that requires investors and institutions to authenticate their identity, residency, and accreditation status before taking part in any of the security token offerings (STOs).

Moreover, this platform allows legally nominated delegates to bid on new offerings on behalf of issuers in a completely legal manner. Polymath also matches issuers automatically with developers who are willing to translate issuers’ Security Offering parameters into secure code, thereby allowing for the easy creation of ERC20 compatible tokens.  

Lastly, the Polymath system also has the capacity to be modified and altered to suit the needs of particular users. Its key parameters can be set in accordance with the needs of participants, assets, and marketplaces.

Overview of Polymath

• The project has a good online presence as well as active community members.
• It allows for the launching of ICOs in a completely legal manner.
• It’s governed using a native currency which only verified members can purchase.
• It is currently one of the only ST (Securities Token) exchanges in the world.

Key Features

Polymath’s platform has four key components, namely: the protocol, app, legal, and exchange layers.

Visual representation of the layer structure used by Polymath

As the name suggests, the protocol layer is Polymath’s core governance strata which takes care of all the computational aspects of the system. It runs using smart contracts and has KYC/AML accreditation baked into its framework. Not only that, it also makes use of a permission model that determines a defined subset of securities that each individual user is allowed to hold. Lastly, the protocol layer also comes with a decentralized shareholder registry.

The Application Layer is designed to allow interested parties to create their own securities-backed tokens. To simplify the process, one can use the “Create-A-Security-Token Wizard”.

The third layer is the Legal Layer. It comes packed with a suite of compliance tools that can be used by companies to see whether their tokens meet all of the regulatory and compliance standards that are required for the successful launch of an ST.

At the very end comes the Exchange Layer. It can be thought of as a closed-ended KYC compliant on/off ramp that offers all of its users instant liquidity options.

How Does Polymath work?

The Polymath ecosystem makes use of a native token (POLY) to govern all of its internal transactions. Issuers, investors, and developers must use the currency to not only access the system, but also to use and develop their STs on the platform.

Overview of the platform (courtesy of the Polymath Information Deck)

To start off with, issuers are required to pay a small fee in the form of Poly tokens to create and issue their securities tokens. The investors in turn must pay a small transaction fee in order to complete the KYC/AML verification, as well as to interact with the Polymath network (buy/sell/trade STs).

Since the platform uses an incentive-driven model, all of the developers who use this platform to create or review initial offering contracts will receive a small revenue stream for their participation.

Visual representation of how Polymath works (courtesy of the Polymath Information Deck)

At this point, it is also important to mention that issuers can make use of delegates to place bids and proposals during the course of the compliance process. Additionally, to make use of Polymath, all of the provided Ethereum addresses must match the ones supplied by investors when filling out the KYC docs during the sign-up process.

About Polymath

Since the introduction of this project last year, Polymath has garnered a good deal of attention within financial circles all around the globe. Since it is one of the only platforms looking to merge the securities domain with the blockchain, it seems to have a good future ahead of itself.

The project is headed by Trevor Koverko, a Silicon Valley-based crypto entrepreneur. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and has held positions in various established ventures such as ShapeShift.io, Luminex and Royalty Exchange. Other noteworthy affiliations include:

• CEO of Digital Assets International
• CEO of eProf Education Inc.
• President of Skyline Capital Management.

Token Performance History

Since the native Polymath token (POLY) has only been on the market for a little over a week, it is hard to assess its future market potential.

POLY token lifetime performance chart (courtesy of CoinMarketCap)

Released at a base value of US$0.789, the price of a single coin jumped to US$1.34 within just a couple of days. However, as of February 13, 2018, its value currently stands at US$0.796.

Final Thoughts

While this platform is still in its nascent stages, it promises to offer the global financial markets a highly promising crypto avenue that can merge traditional securities-based assets with the blockchain sector.

However, before choosing to invest in such projects, it is of utmost importance that potential investors do a bit of research on their own, as it is their own money which is at risk.

If you’d like to start investing in Polymath, POLY trading pairs are currently being offered on IDEX and EtherDelta.