Crypto Issuance Startup Tokensoft Brings Its Token Launchpad On-Chain

Tokensoft, which helps cryptocurrency companies raise capital by selling tokens, is replicating its platform as smart contracts on six blockchains, CEO Mason Borda told CoinDesk.

The technology will be available on-chain on Ethereum, Celo, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon and Avalanche. California-based Tokensoft is betting its open-source smart contracts will help it take a chunk of business from other popular on-chain fundraising mechanisms, such as exchange initial DEX offerings (IDO) and token launchpads.

The expansion means deeper integrations with the Web3 world, where startups raise millions of dollars by selling investors tokens instead of equity. Tokensoft is one of a handful of companies built to help those issuers navigate the sometimes thorny regulatory and compliance landscape around such distributions.

By moving its own product on-chain, Borda said Tokensoft’s clients can add new levels of abstraction to their token distributions. One new feature allows for tethering a token unlock to the price of bitcoin (BTC), instead of to periods of time.

“The kind of people who go with bitcoin price unlocks are bullish on bitcoin and just bullish on crypto as a whole,” he said of the veteran crowd this product line targets. “This isn't for folks who ask, ‘What if bitcoin never hits $50,000 again?’”

Smart contracts will also allow more creativity in setting airdrops, he said. One might set the code to only distribute to wallets that have executed specific smart-contract interactions, for example.

“It’s become a lot broader in terms of how you can distribute tokens to a user base,” he said.

Making one’s software tech open source has potential downsides for a business, though – not least being the possibility of prospective customers simply copying the code and replicating it without ever paying a penny. Borda acknowledged the risk, but said it's one Tokensoft is willing to take. Users would still need to pay Tokensoft for regulatory guidance, he said.