INX starts accepting crypto payments after raising $7.5M in its IPO

The company's $117 million SEC-approved IPO is the first of its kind.

INX, a Gibraltar-based cryptocurrency exchange, is now accepting major cryptocurrencies as part of its initial public offering. The company hopes to raise $117 million from both retail and institutional investors.

Starting Monday, the company will accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC), INX officially announced on Thursday. Since launching the IPO, INX raised $7.5 million by Sept. 10, the firm's representatives said.

According to the announcement, more than 3,000 retail and accredited investors registered for the INX token offering in the first three days. INX said the company set the offering price at $0.90 per token, with a minimum investment of $1,000. BTC/USD, ETH/USD and USDC/USD exchange rates will be determined in the manner as disclosed in the final prospectus, the firm noted.

As previously reported, INX’s ongoing sale is the first-ever security token IPO that is registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. A registration statement relating to the offering of these securities was declared effective by the SEC on Aug. 20.

In the announcement, INX clarified that the offering is only available in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

According to the firm, INX intends to use the funds raised from the sale of INX tokens to launch a multiservice digital asset platform. As such, INX plans to set up a regulated crypto trading platform for crypto, security tokens and their derivatives, as well as to launch a cash reserve fund.

In late August, some figures in the crypto community explicitly criticized INX for “shilling” an SEC-cleared token. As reported, Stefan Jespers, known as WhalePanda on Twitter, compared the INX token to Binance's native token, Binance Coin (BNB). Jameson Lopp, the chief technology officer of Casa and a self-proclaimed cypherpunk, expressed a similar stance, stating: “Not an equity offering. Not yo’ mama’s ICO. A guaranteed share of cash flow.”