Energi Mine reaches £12m initial coin offering target

Oldham-based Energi Mine has successfully raised the remaining £4m of its £12m initial coin offering (ICO) target.

Having raised £8m during the pre-sale period, Energi Mine opened its ICO to the public at 10am on Wednesday (January 31).

Just 81 minutes later at 11:21 am, the £12m cap had been reached and the ICO was closed. Energi Mine is the first UK business outside London to successfully complete an ICO.

“The global interest in this ICO has been astounding,” said Energi Mine founder and chief executive, Omar Rahim. “Investors have bought into our vision to revolutionise and reinvigorate the stagnant energy market using blockchain.”

In total, Energi Mine’s ICO has attracted contributors from more than 30 countries with a mix of investors from larger crypto funds and the general public.

Energi Mine will now launch its new cryptocurrency, ETK Tokens, which reward people for consuming less energy, incentivising them to engage in energy-saving behaviour that will have a positive impact on the environment.

Rahim added: “Until now there has been no incentive to save energy. Our blockchain solution will create a platform to reward energy efficient behaviour.

“The ETK Token will offer incentives for a range of energy-efficient behaviours from taking low-carbon transport to buying energy-efficient appliances. ETK Tokens can then be reused in the eco-system to help pay towards electric bills or even to charge electric vehicles.”

Energi Mine is set to announce a number of global partnerships in the coming weeks. The company is already developing the UK’s first crypto currency payment system for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points.

Energi Mine shunned VC investment in pursuing an ICO, a fundraising method more commonplace in the US and Asia.