OPEN-TEC had an opportunity to interview Dr. Karndee Leopairote, CEO and Co-founder of ICORA Asia, a consulting service for Initial Coin Offering (ICO). ICORA partnered with Thai Fintech Association in developing a Crypto Asset Revolution course, or CAR, which is aiming to provide ICO and Crypto Asset knowledge. From the interview, OPEN-TEC has discovered her passion towards ICO from her statement that “I think crypto-assets fit my character. They are intriguing, and there’s a lot of value in them, and they have a promising future”
ICO, Not A Replacement but A New Opportunity
OPEN-TEC also admires Karndee’s statement that ICO is an alternative for fundraising. Many companies have adopted blockchain for their project investments these days, but the differentiation of IPO and ICO is that IPO common stock selling will dilute shares from current stakeholders while ICO offers different compensation formats, for example revenue sharing. It is not necessary for both systems to replace each other but their complement could benefit a company’s growth. “I believe that ICO will never replace IPO but it could be an option for an interested company. Many firms are interested in IPO but would like to adopt ICO before seed funding and IPO.”
In Thailand some people agree with ICO while others don’t; what’s your opinion about this?
“It’s at the early stage. This industry is actually developing, from the investor itself, from the company owner itself, and also the regulation itself. It’s our concern as a thought leader or the first mover who would like to pave the way to the future. But what I can guarantee you is that the crypto currency is not going to go away. It’s getting larger and larger despite all the scams and all frauds we see these days. But people learn it’s like the first time when we go to the stock market, we will need to go to workshop before we get into stages. Regulation on the other hand, is an experiment on what’s works and what is required until they reach certain stage. So, we are lucky that we are born in this age, that we see the development and all the changes. But it’s on us to pave this way into the future.” Dr. Karndee stated.
Lastly, no one knows how ICO or Initial Coin Offering in Thailand will evolve. Let’s wait and see how it is going to be. There are more interesting issues from interview conversation between OPEN-TEC and Dr. Karndee Leopairote; you can watch more from the full video below