U.S. firm to launch sale of digital token for forex trading

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fintech Investment Group, a U.S.-based commodity trading adviser, plans to launch an initial coin offering in June for its own token that allows investors to trade currencies on a digital platform, company founder Alan Friedland said. The new digital token, to be called Compcoin, is based on a technology that powers bitcoin and litecoin, two of the leading digital currencies. Friedland said 3 million coins, of the total current supply of 10 million, will be sold next month, potentially raising $30 million. "With Compcoin, people will be given the opportunity to profit in the new digital token market with a financial instrument that will grow with the performance of the account," he said in an interview late on Tuesday. "They should make money not only from trading on the platform, but also from the coin's value when it tracks the performance of the account," he added. Initial coin offerings are the current rage among startups in the financial ledger blockchain space, enabling new companies with a technology idea to bypass banks and venture capital firms when raising capital. In 2016, startups raised about $200 million through ICOs. That amount could double this year, according to market participants. Compcoin will give investors access to a proprietary, algorithmic foreign currency exchange trading platform called ART, which was developed by Fintech Investment Group. The company said Compcoin is the first digital token that enables all types of investors access to algorithmic or automated trading in the global currency market. The coin also allows investors to profit from the price appreciation of the digital token once it starts trading on digital asset exchanges. Previously, algorithmic trading was available only to institutional investors, hedge fund managers and global banks in big lots and they trade on various currency platforms like Thomson Reuters. They do not need a token to trade currencies on electronic trading platforms, but they usually require huge orders. Token holders will be able to trade spot foreign exchange and currency futures on the platform. The new trading platform will trade up to $1 billion in volume, which is equivalent to the total number of Compcoins in the market at 10 million. Proceeds of the ICO will go toward the development of new investor technologies, customer acquisition, and company growth. Fintech was launched in 2016 and is a member of the National Futures Association. (Editing by Matthew Lewis)