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When is the ICO? No, I'm not kidding. Look at Telegram. Who would've thought an open source project would ever get close to a billion dollars in funding? I do

by mtgx 9y ago

When is the ICO? No, I'm not kidding. Look at Telegram. Who would've thought an open source project would ever get close to a billion dollars in funding? I don't want Signal to wither away or forever remain a niche chat application because of lack of funding, especially if Moxie one day decides he wants to pursue some other dreams of his and doesn't have time to deal with Signal anymore.

xwvvvvwx 9y ago
Moxie is already working on a cryptocurrency project: https://www.mobilecoin.com/ https://www.mobilecoin.com/
- emmanuelindex 9y ago
  yes, he's working on Mobilecoin since the beginning. I'm wondering when it will ship and if it will be the first project of the Signal foundation.
  - r3bl 9y ago
    Last paragraph in the whitepaper: > MobileCoin is designed so that a mobile messaging application like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Signal could integrate with a MobileCoin wallet. Pretty sure we're gonna see a separate product that works with IM apps when installed simultaneously.
rrdharan 9y ago
This seems like a much better setup - $50M and setup as a 501(c)3 - rather than taking on the weird regulatory risk and all the other weirdness associated with Telegram's (IMO crazy) ICO: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/02/17/telegram-ico-scam-among-cryptocurrency-scams/#5e4b33fd1cf0 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/02/17/teleg...
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > taking on the weird regulatory risk and all the other weirdness associated with Telegram's (IMO crazy) ICO To make this more tangible, doing an ICO means a prosecutor can personally threaten anyone on the team with violating securities laws. That's a stupid risk to take if you know, as an organization, you're going to fight the U.S. government in court one day.
- mtgx 9y ago
  I watched the recent hearing on cryptocurrency. The SEC guy seemed to suggest that ICOs need to "register with the SEC" as a security. If they do that and talk to SEC how to best do this, then I think they would be fine? I think Filecoin did something similar.
tgragnato 9y ago
Such a sum can be dangerous, especially if you're used to a team of 7. But it's also dangerous to dismiss or discourage this kind of experiments. > We believe there is an opportunity to act in the public interest and make a meaningful contribution to society by building sustainable technology that respects users and does not rely on the commoditization of personal data.
- hinkley 9y ago
  That sum is only dangerous if they aren't getting good advice from people with experience in nonprofits. If they treat a big chunk of that as an endowment and go after more funding every few years to top off the coffers, they could live on that kind of money for ages.
tptacek 9y ago
This post explains why they've never taken investor money.
davesque 9y ago
I think the simple answer is that ICOs are too risky and involve too many unknowns. By the way, were you actually associated with Mt. Gox or is that account name just for kicks?
XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago
What would be the incentive to buy?

by mtgx 9y ago

xwvvvvwx 9y ago

Moxie is already working on a cryptocurrency project: https://www.mobilecoin.com/ https://www.mobilecoin.com/

emmanuelindex 9y ago
yes, he's working on Mobilecoin since the beginning. I'm wondering when it will ship and if it will be the first project of the Signal foundation.
- r3bl 9y ago
  Last paragraph in the whitepaper: > MobileCoin is designed so that a mobile messaging application like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Signal could integrate with a MobileCoin wallet. Pretty sure we're gonna see a separate product that works with IM apps when installed simultaneously.

rrdharan 9y ago

This seems like a much better setup - $50M and setup as a 501(c)3 - rather than taking on the weird regulatory risk and all the other weirdness associated with Telegram's (IMO crazy) ICO: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/02/17/telegram-ico-scam-among-cryptocurrency-scams/#5e4b33fd1cf0 https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/02/17/teleg...

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> taking on the weird regulatory risk and all the other weirdness associated with Telegram's (IMO crazy) ICO To make this more tangible, doing an ICO means a prosecutor can personally threaten anyone on the team with violating securities laws. That's a stupid risk to take if you know, as an organization, you're going to fight the U.S. government in court one day.
mtgx 9y ago
I watched the recent hearing on cryptocurrency. The SEC guy seemed to suggest that ICOs need to "register with the SEC" as a security. If they do that and talk to SEC how to best do this, then I think they would be fine? I think Filecoin did something similar.

tgragnato 9y ago

Such a sum can be dangerous, especially if you're used to a team of 7. But it's also dangerous to dismiss or discourage this kind of experiments. > We believe there is an opportunity to act in the public interest and make a meaningful contribution to society by building sustainable technology that respects users and does not rely on the commoditization of personal data.

hinkley 9y ago
That sum is only dangerous if they aren't getting good advice from people with experience in nonprofits. If they treat a big chunk of that as an endowment and go after more funding every few years to top off the coffers, they could live on that kind of money for ages.

tptacek 9y ago

This post explains why they've never taken investor money.

davesque 9y ago

I think the simple answer is that ICOs are too risky and involve too many unknowns. By the way, were you actually associated with Mt. Gox or is that account name just for kicks?

XR0CSWV3h3kZWg 9y ago

What would be the incentive to buy?