When I first started looking at Bitcoin 2.0 startups (Altcoins and decentralized apps using Blockchain tech) I would see “IPO” mentioned. This had me thinking “WTF” as these are really early stage ventures, far removed from the financial metrics demanded by investors for an IPO.

These ventures realized they were in a branding and legal minefield and dropped the term. What they are doing is crowdfunding, in much the same way that Kickstarter does it – except of course using their own platform and using Bitcoin for payment.

They have to use crowdfunding because these are a) bleeding edge projects that very few investors understand b) open source with no obvious monetization play. So traditional Angel to VC route is not ideal; indeed some that go this route get flamed by the community and as community enthusiasm is mission # 1 that would be a huge mistake.

Also, for platforms…