The Chicago based firm Ceres wants to build a “seed to sale” transaction network for cannabis on a blockchain network using its dollar-backed stablecoin if the digital security is approved for sale by the US financial regulator Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm launched in 2017 by West Point graduates and former US soldiers Greg Anderson and the COO Charlie Uchill, Ceres recently filed paperwork with the US SEC to conduct a Reg. The firm is seeking permission to sell both a token and a coin.
Ceres plans to sell up to $30 million worth of its tokens.
According to the application filed with the US SEC, the Chicago-based cannabis firm plans to sell up to $30 million worth of its tokens and another $20 million in Ceres coins. The firm also markets itself as a lender for legal cannabis businesses. The company’s COO Urchill said that it has yet to disburse any loans, and is counting on the digital securities sale to raise capital. According to the SEC filing, the company noted that token holders, as a group, shall receive 80 percent of the firm’s net revenues from its loan business and 20 percent of net revenues from the blockchain payments system.
“We have been working with the SEC for 18 months.”
The Chief Operating Officer of the firm, Charlie Uchill, revealed that they have been working with the US SEC for the past 18 months. He stated, “I tell investors that we lost every battle with the SEC to win the war to have SEC approval.” Over the last few years, the United States Securities Exchange Commission has cracked down on Initial Coin Offerings, including the billion-dollar ICO of encrypted messaging giant Telegram.
Upon receiving approval, the firm expects to target its marketing and sales efforts, mainly in the states of Illinois and Washington. The firm “has identified certain strategic business opportunities” related to its payment network, coins, and tokens.
