Stock-trading startup defies crypto crash to raise $32.2m in just a few months

Cryptocurrency prices are in the doldrums right now, with both Etheureum and Bitcoin sustaining massive sell-offs.

But that hasn’t stopped an app for stock (and soon cryptocurrency) speculators from raising a blockbuster round.

Just months after raising US$30 million worth of tokens in a private offering from investors, Singapore-based startup Spiking has announced that it has received an additional US$2.2 million worth of tokens, this time from the public.

The initial coin offering saw 3.22 billion Spike tokens exchange hands – at a cost of US$0.01 each. It’s one of the more well-funded ICOs in recent memory.

Launched in 2016, Spiking helps users predict the rise and fall of stock prices using its algorithm. Spiking says it has 170,000 users. though it did not specify their nature. It plans to launch a subscription service that will allow users to see more stock predictions than the free version.

Its upcoming product, in which it offered tokens, lets users mirror the cryptocurrency trades of so-called “whales” or big-money investors.

“Spiking spent a significant amount of time closely investigating market movements, which ultimately helped them discover over 1,000 crypto whales through their wallet addresses. Spiking currently tracks these whales and discovers new ones by analyzing the market and expanding their network of traders,” the company explains.

Tracking these so-called whales is easier than traditional market movements due to the transparency of a public blockchain network. The asset flows in and out of a wallet are publicly accessible.

The irony, though, is that if Spiking and similar apps succeed, it could cause even more volatility in cryptocurrency prices – with the impact of a whale’s trade mirrored by many others.

The amount raised by Spiking is significant, though there are hidden costs associated with ICOs.

You’ll need expertise to write writepapers, manage the so-called “tokenomics” of running a virtual currency, and pay hefty listing fees to the top crypto exchanges so that people can easily buy and sell your token. There’s also the need to manage the community. In some ways, it’s almost like running a publicly listed company.

But with the sum Spiking has raised, it does a have a runway to figure those things out.

Update on 25 Dec: The amount raised that was originally stated was incorrect. The error has been fixed.