Crypterium: ICO on my watch list

I enjoy learning about the crypto currency world and upcoming ICOs. I recently invested a bit more in BTC and LTC, but spared a bit in case I came across another interesting ICO. I mentioned one a couple posts ago, but decided to pass on their pre-sale. Why? Well, after already investing on 2 gaming related ICOs and having one of them nose dive with their price, I decided to diversify my investment (to be fair, I think most ICOs nose dive post token release with all the wales and bonus dumpers, and my investments are for long term … but still, since it was a strong contender it surprised me).
Like I mentioned earlier on, I like to invest on projects I can understand the lingo and that I could actually use the product they are offering, which brings me to Crypterium.

In a nutshell, Crypterium refers to itself as “the JP Morgan of Cryptobanks”. It is an Estonia based company, and from the profiles listed on its website, it seems to have a solid development and management team with a strong background in digital payments and finance (I have yet to check their profiles more in depth though). Their mobile app is currently in the testing and de-bugging stages.

With the recent growth of cryptocurrencies, their idea is to have a cryptobank for everyone, offering a service-payment infrastructure. For me it would be incredible if we get to a point were we can pay in cryptocurrencies in the real world. It is a current problem and they are trying to solve it. They are not just offering a simple cryptowallet or cryptocard (like other banking related ICOs), but a complete ecosystem focused on “future technologies and infrastructure, using contactless payment technologies and creating full-fledged banking solutions.”

Now, at first it freaked me out their total supply of tokens was on the smaller size (300 million), as it felt contradicting to offering a cryptobank for everyone with such a limited supply that could make mass or even high adoption tricky, but per their whitepaper, payments at any POS terminal would be made in major crypto currencies such as BTC, ETH or ERC20 tokens, so imagine all the extra potential. It is exciting.
The other interesting aspect behind it is that while you are paying in cryptocurrency, the service provider or seller would receive their payment in real world currency, also known as fiat (though my guess would be they could also get their payment in crypto should they choose that).
A cryptobank like Crypterium simplifies the entire process of dealing with exchanges in order to finally transfer fiat to your bank account just to make a payment, if you are lucky to live in a country where it is possible to, because if not then you have to first transfer the fiat your received (after the crypto exchange) to a European bank and then finally to your country (and we all know how expensive international transfers are).

So you might be wondering, if you can pay with other major cryptocurrencies what is the point of their token then? Why not simply release an app? Well, funding is key as this is a complex ecosystem, their token is the fuel that powers the transaction and according to Crypterium, what makes their token (CRPT) unique is that it is demand based. What does this mean? Per their website it means that “Each transaction in a crypto bank forms a demand for a token, because part of the funds from the transaction go toward its purchase on the open market. This ensures constant liquidity of the CRPT tokens.” This means the value of the token is likely to increase, but if I am being honest, even with the token holder benefits (see image below), I am not a fan of a being charged a “fee equal to 0.5% of the value of the transaction in CRPT” every time I make a payment, and having it deducted from my limited CRPT supply. I would prefer if the fee was applied in the cryptocurrency I choose as payment method. Does this concern me? A bit because in my humble opinion, the simplicity Crypterium is offering is exactly what the crypto currency world needs to reach the masses, but depending on CRPTs for your payments to work might be what discourages people to use their mobile app once it's launched if they missed the ICO.

Their token is on the expensive side, at least for me and my November budget (1000 tokens = 0.1 BTC or USD 742, so about USD 0.742 per token at current exchange prices). However, since their token supply is on the lower size (and the unsold ones will be destroyed) 100 tokens could still be a decent investment (with the current bonus I would get an extra 20%, so 120 tokens), but if I am going to start losing them once I start making payments I don't know how long that amount will last me. Decisions, decisions.

Token Sale started on October 31, 2017 and will run through January 13, 2018 (or until their token issue cap is reached). It is 75 days long (which feels longer than other ICOs), but with a relatively limited supply I doubt it will last until January.
They are currently during their Early Sale, which will go through November 6th, 2017. Their current bonus structure depends on how much you invest and can be anywhere between 20% to 33%). They reached their USD 5 million soft cap in just 5 hours, and have so far raised a bit over USD 9 million. The minimum purchase is 1 CRPT.

Once the Early Sale is over, the Bonus Sale starts (from November 7th, 2017 through November 27th, 2017). This time around the bonus structure is not subject to the amount purchased, but to the dates, and it can be anywhere between 3% and 15%).

Then they move to the regular Token Sale with no bonuses and this goes from November 28th, 2017 through January 13th, 2018.
Per their ICO timeline, you should receive your tokens between January 14th, 2018 and January 25th, 2018.

Due to the token price, it would be best to invest during the early sale or bonus period. However, before investing take your time to do your own research. I am no financial advisor, I am learning as I go and what I think is interesting and good, might not work for you.
If you want to learn more about Crypterium, be sure to visit their official website: https://crypterium.io/, as well as their Bitcointalk Ann Thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2214098.0), where they answer plenty of questions. Check out the team and take the time to read their whitepaper (it’s on the long side, but it has tons of info).

If you do decide to invest be sure to use my referral link or you can click here: https://tokensale.crypterium.io/?ref=c4e150c380dca0240a62b41f so that you can get reward amounts to 1% and I can get a reward as well.

And, I can’t close an ICO related post without reminding you that investing on any ICO or crypto currency is risky (as is any type of investment), and there is no guarantee of returns, so never (ever) invest more than you can afford to lose.

Happy ICOing!

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Links to some of my previous articles:

• My Current Electroneum Feelings
• My Own Harvey Weinsteins
• How I was crypto-currency scammed
• My First ICO – Electroneum