Charlie Shrem and Jason Granger announced Intellisys Capital yesterday at CoinDesk On Tap in New York. The investment company pairs Shrem's bitcoin background with Granger's real estate and private eq
Charlie Shrem and Jason Granger announced Intellisys Capital yesterday at CoinDesk On Tap in New York. The investment company pairs Shrem's bitcoin background with Granger's real estate and private equity expertise, creating a platform that manages portfolios of US middle market companies, real estate holdings, and blockchain ventures.
The fund launches in January. Investors will own shares through digital tokens issued on ethereum, the world's second largest cryptocurrency by market capital. These tokens represent stakes in actual operating businesses.
"Providing liquidity and dividends to investors through the first digital token backed by hard assets will change the landscape of private equity investment on the blockchain," Granger said.
Intellisys will operate through a new fund called Mainstreet Investment, a Cayman Islands partnership designed to issue digital securities backed by real assets. The Initial Token Offering starts January 15.
Shrem explained the venture's premise when the Observer spoke with him. "Up until now you have Bitcoin, and all these alt-coin tokens, not backed by real assets. This token is," he said.
Mainstreet targets companies with steady cash generation, simple business models, and solid management. The fund will assist these companies in scaling and expanding into targeted markets. Intellisys will own most of Mainstreet.
The tokens will run on what the company calls a "qualified blockchain ledger platform," which records private securities transactions while following Know Your Customer rules.
Shrem deferred the blockchain integration until after Intellisys purchased its first company. "My blockchain strategy will start as soon as we purchase our first company which we are in the final stages of negotiating now," he told the Observer. "As soon as the company is purchased, we will investigate and commission a report that will be shared with investors on how we think this company can benefit from blockchain."
Shrem emerged from BitInstant as an early bitcoin advocate. He helped found the Bitcoin Foundation. Federal prosecutors convicted him in December 2014 of helping run an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He served two years and left prison in July.
