Xiaomi disavows ICO linked to its name

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Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has indicated that it has absolutely no connection nor has it authorised an initial coin offering (ICO) scheme selling a token apparently pegged to the phone maker’s stock price. This is yet another case of a fraudulent ICO which is looking to gain access to financing in a deceitful and underhanded manner—sadly the case with the majority of ICOs these days.

On July 9, the smartphone maker will go public on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and aims to raise an estimated $4.7 billion in what is considered to be one of the best public offerings in Hong Kong this year. Aside from the consumer electronics sector, the Xiaomi IPO has also drawn considerable interest from the cryptocurrency space—one Cyprus-based company in particular.

Blackmoon, a blockchain investment firm with headquarters in Cyprus, announced in June that it is offering a token called BMxXMI. The price of this token is pegged to Xiaomi’s stock vale based on a dollar-for-dollar level.

However, a Xiaomi representative strongly refuted any connection with the Blackmoon coin offering, telling the South China Morning Post that the ICO “had not been approved or endorsed by the smartphone maker.”

https://twitter.com/BlackmoonFG/status/1013131548676313088

On Blackmoon’s website, the investment company said investors can contribute to the ICO with BTC, ETH and LTC. The investment will enable them to get some sort of exposure to Xiaomi’s stock performance without actually owning any equity in the firm, according to Blackmoon.

Proceeds raised from the ICO will be converted into fiat currencies and transferred to its brokers, who, in return, can purchase Xiaomi stocks from the secondary market on behalf of the investors. Investors can sell the BMxXMI tokens through the brokers after an initial 93-day lockup period. The brokers will execute sell orders of the stocks on the exchange.