In recent times, start-up businesses have drastically changed the way they acquire capital for their new ventures. Nowadays, it is possible for businesses to take their forward thinking ideas to the masses and raise capital from a much bigger pool of potential investors.
Malta is well-known for being at the forefront of multiple disruptive industries like iGaming and blockchain. In addition to that, it is a great jurisdiction for launching ICOs. In this article, we show you how you can launch an ICO in Malta.
Reasons Why You Should Consider Launching Your ICO in Malta
- As mentioned earlier, Malta has a reputation for being open-minded towards upcoming technologies and sectors. This area is a hotbed of modern innovation and talent.
- The government in Malta is proactive in growing the new sectors further.
- You should launch your ICO in Malta because this place has embraced the new technology of blockchain entirely and you can easily benefit from a great tax rate of as low as 5 percent. Funds raised via the ICO can be entitled to as low as 0 percent should your company satisfy a certain criterion.
- This island is filled with plenty of professional services firms including those specialising in ICOs, all of whom know how to communicate in English fluently. Additionally, the weather is fantastic here.
Some assume that ICOs are completely unregulated, but in Malta this is not necessarily the case. The government plans to implement regulations as well as legislative networks to motivate and support the development of the ICO industry in a way that guards both the investors and the companies launching them.
Though the legal obligations have not yet been set, it does not mean that companies are free to issue token sales as they so wish, and depending on the Howey test isn’t enough. At a basic level, a token is not seen as security because it doesn’t have any share of profit supporting it, so it does not fit under the securities laws in Malta.
You should be careful in how you choose to word your advertising content as well as your whitepaper because you need to make sure that you are very clear in stating the fact that it’s a utility token.
Moreover, you should detail your terms and conditions clearly in order to ensure the relationship between the provider and the token subscriber is clear. This is because other legal stipulations will come to play in this regard.
You should also take into account the taxation issue. Know the tax exposure regarding the sale of tokens as well as the tax implications of the customers that purchase your tokens. Since this matter is a bit complicated, you need to seek a professional in this sector to clarify the details to you.
Government legislation on ICOs and blockchain is imminent, though it might not be clearly stipulated for now, Malta will soon be the first jurisdiction in the globe to establish a legal framework for this type of industry.
Requirements for Launching an ICO in Malta
To successfully launch an ICO in Malta, you need an excellent idea, a purpose, a well stipulated plan, some funds to invest, and great perseverance.
1. Excellent Idea
For starters, you need to have a great idea. You should know what your token will be, what function it will serve, reasons why people should buy it, and the type of smart contracts it will require to function properly. Without knowing these aspects, you may not be able to advance in the ICO process.
It is always important to think carefully and conduct detailed research to ensure that your idea and the accompanying components live up to their purpose and fill a gap in the market.
2. Whitepaper
Once you have come up with a great idea, you will need a whitepaper. It is basically a document that is either made or overseen by company founders, and then reviewed by an expert. The whitepaper should lay out all details of your plan, and also sell the idea to anybody that comes across it.
This document is considered the most valuable marketing tool. Through your whitepaper, potential investors will make a decision on your project, therefore, you should ensure it is up to standard.
3. Website
In this digital world, having a company website is important. You will need to have a professional and dedicated site to advertise your product. Image is everything when it comes to company websites. The way your site looks as well as the impression it gives plays a huge role in the success of your ICO set up.
Unless you have the skills and expertise on web design, you should hire a professional to ensure that your website showcases your plans professionally. Furthermore, your online marketing tools also include branding, SEO content, graphic design, and PR, therefore, you should also take them into account to ensure your product reaches your target market.
4. Team
No man is an island, therefore, you need to have a team of ambitious and talented staff to help you launch your ICO in Malta successfully. For example, hiring a Smart Contract Developer who is highly experienced will help you come up with the best plan.
How Much Money Do I Need to Launch an ICO?
To be honest, launching an ICO in Malta requires a significant amount of cash. The cost is estimated to be about 70,000EUR. This type of business does not come cheap, so you should be ready to use a significant amount of money to achieve the quality results you desire.
The startup figure will cover everything regarding website design, hiring a coder and web developer, advertising, and launching your product. This figure varies depending on several factors such as the product you are offering, and the people or companies you opt to form a partnership with. If you have plenty of funds at your disposal, you could spend up to a whopping 500,000EUR, with over 250,000EUR being solely used on advertising.
Cutting costs in this business is not an option. If you start to cut costs and people start to notice it, you could ruin your credibility. As everyone knows, credibility is everything in an industry like this one. Ensuring that you maintain great professionalism and meet all the set standards means that your potential investors will have more trust in you.
How to Create Your Whitepaper
All ICOs require a professional, informative, detailed and articulate whitepaper. The goal of this authoritative document is to describe the product in detail, explain the purpose and application of the token, and to articulate the distribution process.
This document can be seen as the backbone of an ICO project. Potential investors will look at your whitepaper first before they make a decision on whether they should invest in your project.
Since this is the first thing investors look at, you should take the time to explain your concept, plan, product being offered, its potential benefits, the financial aspects, and what you are hoping to achieve through this product. Moreover, you should give in-depth information regarding the projection of your coin and how the investors will benefit from it in the long run.
If you have all the skills of copy writing and content writing, you can write your own whitepaper, otherwise you should seek the services of a professional. However, most professionals do not come cheap, but this is a worthy investment.
Website Creation
Again, unless you have the skills to develop a professional website, you should seek a professional web developer and coder to create your company website. Have a relevant domain name, and ensure your web layout is precise, sleek, eye-catching and easy to navigate.
A difficult to navigate website with annoying text and graphics will not get many visitors. Therefore, you should ensure your website meets the standards of a quality website.
Marketing Your ICO
It is no use having a great product and impressive whitepaper if nobody will get to know about your ICO. That is why you need to invest in ICO marketing. It is possible for you to conduct the marketing yourself, but it is always best to seek the services of an experienced marketing agency specially dedicated to ICO marketing. In your marketing strategies you want to ensure there are zero mistakes and no missing out on prime opportunities.
Facebook and Google no longer allow ICO advertising on their platforms, which is a blow to those invested in ICO marketing, but fortunately there are still many opportunities available.
1. List Your ICO on an ICO Calendar
For a certain fee, you can be able to list your ICO’s relevant information and the set launch date on a calendar provided by several leading online platforms. Once you have listed your ICO on a calendar, people who are searching for worthwhile ICOs to invest in will get to view your product.
2. Create a Discussion on Cryptocurrency Forums
It is important to stay updated on all leading cryptocurrency forums. You can take advantage of these online discussion forums to discuss, start a conversation and form a hype around your new ICO. An example of a leading online community that discusses cryptocurrency topics is Bitcoin Talk. This is a great way to market your ICO.
3. Establish an Account on Reddit
You can also utilise Reddit to boost your project. However, you need to have an established Reddit account and be tactful in the way you promote your product. If it becomes too obvious that you’re purposefully trying to create a hype around your product, you can easily be discredited in this community. In this sector, reputation is key, therefore, you cannot afford to be discredited. Always ensure you are savvy in promoting your project.
4. Utilise Other Social Media Sites
In addition to the above marketing tools, you should also look to promoting your ICO on LinkedIn and Twitter. Both of these platforms possess huge crypto-communities and many people visit these sites to get the latest news and information on current trends in industries.
If you go about this correctly, you can be able to achieve success in social media marketing without having to spend a lot of money. However, for exceptional results, you should come up with an effective strategy, a budget, and hire a professional to help you.
More so, you should consider putting up your content on YouTube and Medium. These are extra ways to create great hype and lure savvy investors to fund your project. Medium is a very useful tool because any content posted on it can go viral very easily, boosting your ICO to higher levels.
5. Cryptocurrency Websites
Don’t forget to promote your ICO using cryptocurrency hubs like BiteMyCoin and CoinTelegraph. These online platforms have a huge social media following and large subscription lists. You can use these risk-free platforms to promote your product to worldwide audiences organically. By going directly to cryptocurrency hubs, you are greatly increasing your chances of reaching genuine investors who are interested in crypto-related start-ups and projects.
6. Seek Help from a Marketing Agency
Nowadays, there is stiff competition when it comes to marketing a cryptocurrency business. Even if you have plenty of funds to spend and know how to navigate through the worldwide web, your success rate may not be satisfactory.
We are knowledgeable in the field of ICO marketing and have marketing experts who can advise you on how to beat the fierce competition and stand out from the crowd. In addition to that, the experts will tell you how to go about certain regulations, particularly on Social Media sites, and how you can advertise your product without comprising them.
What are the Overall Costs in Launching an ICO in Malta?
To create, launch, and run an ICO successfully, you will have to part with a minimum of €60,000 and at least 3 months, operating on a really tight schedule.
Without a doubt, the more funds you can input into doing things correctly, the higher chances of being successful. Of course, a cheap product accompanied by cheap marketing is highly likely to yield poor results, therefore, you should not think of cutting corners in this type of business.
An ICO business needs plenty of work to be successful. From the development stages to the marketing strategies, all the areas should be thought out carefully, planned adequately, and executed properly.
Making sure that you have experienced, motivated and ambitious staff to assist you in the journey is very important, and seeking help from a reputable agency that specialises in the ICO sector will go a long way in helping you get the best return for your investment.
Don not forget to manage all your monetary resources wisely all through the planning stage and the whole process, as you only get one chance to impress your investors. Prepare adequately for launching your ICO and put plenty of consideration into selecting Malta as a jurisdiction.
Being knowledgeable on how to launch an ICO in Malta is a great step towards the success of your business. Malta is an established and safe jurisdiction that is filled with a huge pool of ICO talent that can help you in taking the correct steps.
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