Kickstarting Blockchain : Designing Blockchain-based Tokens for Equity Crowdfunding

Title data

Guggenberger, Tobias ; Schellinger, Benjamin ; von Wachter, Viktor ; Urbach, Nils:
Kickstarting Blockchain : Designing Blockchain-based Tokens for Equity Crowdfunding.
In: Electronic Commerce Research. (2023) .
ISSN 1572-9362

Project information

Abstract in another language

Blockchain-based tokens seek to overcome the friction and opaqueness of the leg-acy financial infrastructure in the company funding process, particularly in the early-stage and equity crowdfunding domain. While Initial Coin Offerings and Se-curity Token Offerings proposed a solution for crowdfunding, early-stage compa-nies still face challenges in using blockchain as an alternative equity funding infra-structure. In this context, the idea of blockchain-based equity tokens remains hypo-thetical. In addition, the literature lacks design theory for the development and im-plementation of blockchain-based equity tokens. This research bridges this gap by designing, developing, and evaluating an equity token prototype for crowdfunding, following the design science research (DSR) approach. We propose a refined crowdfunding model and derive seven design principles that contribute to the de-sign theory of equity tokens. The research results show that blockchain-based equi-ty tokens improve efficiency, transparency, and interoperability while meeting reg-ulatory requirements and facilitating secondary market trading.