TaaS stands for “Token-as-a-Service,” and was a closed-end tokenized fund that operated on the Ethereum blockchain. Essentially, TaaS cryptocurrency was a way for people to invest in crypto assets without having to deal with the technical barriers that can make it tough to get started. If you purchased a TaaS token you owned a piece of that fund.
The founders of the fund raised about $7Mn and delivered a 278% return on assets. In total the fund distributed $16.8Mn in returns on the initial investment between 2017-2019.
The fund has now been terminated and LinkedIn shows the team members have moved on. On their website the TaaS cryptocurrency team say they are developing other products and post a link to a page for “accredited” investors. Their new fund is called TAAS Capital Fund (“TAASCap” or “Fund”) which is an open-end investment vehicle primarily focused on blockchains.
What is a closed-end fund?
A closed-end fund is a type of investment that raises a fixed amount of money through an initial public offering (IPO). Basically, it’s like a company that sells shares of itself to the public. Once it has all that cash, it uses it to buy a bunch of different assets, like stocks, bonds, and real estate. From a consumer perspective it’s a way to outsource investment decisions. Just like you would with a mutual fund.
But here’s the thing. Unlike an open-end fund, which can sell more shares or buy back the ones it already sold whenever it wants, a closed-end fund has a fixed number of shares. This means that the price of those shares is determined by how many people want to buy them and how many people want to sell them, rather than the value of the assets in the fund’s portfolio.
Closed-end funds can be a good way for investors to get exposure to a diverse range of assets. They also they have the potential to earn some pretty decent returns. But they also come with risks, like underperforming the market or seeing big swings in share price.
How does TaaS cryptocurrency work?
Okay, so here’s the deal: if you owned TaaS tokens, you got paid a portion of the company’s profits every quarter. TaaS token holders were paid a quarterly 50% capital gains payout. Another 25% of the quarterly payouts was reinvested into the TaaS portfolio to help it grow. Then the remainder 25% went to the TaaS team as a performance fee. Not too bad for the founders and neither for token owners.
The founders issued the TaaS Coin on Ethereum. You could then purchase tokens during their ICO. The TaaS ICO was launched during the ICO craze in March 2017.
You can check out one of their presentations just before the ICO. Keep in mind that the market was very different at the time.
TaaS’s presentation at Fort Lauderdale before their ICO
It was still early days when TaaS was invented
Investing in crypto at the time was not that easy. The blockchain space was young. There existed many technical barriers in transferring and trading tokens. This was just before the rise of blockchain markets. Many of the major exchanges we use today were just getting started. In addition there was a lack of market understanding. Everyone knew what bitcoin was but few in market knew about alt coins because of the limited information available.
I remember because I was one of those people trying to figure out how all this stuff works. The frustration later gave rise to elementalcrypto.com.
There was also very little expertise as there was a lack of transparency around existing solutions. The TaaS project entered the market offering ease, full transparency and automation to its prospective customers. TaaS’ cryptocurrency investment fund was an appealing solution. The solution that TaaS provided was the equivalent of an independent financial adviser who did all the market research and technical analysis for you.
TaaS cryptocurrency uses smart contract technology to ensure the transparency and security of its operations. These smart contracts automatically executed the terms of a contract when certain conditions were met. As a result it was easy for token holders to track their investments and receive profits.
But what really set TaaS apart was its cryptographic audit technology. This was used to review the performance of TaaS’s portfolio on a quarterly basis. It also helped to make sure that TaaS’ investments were performing as expected. This ensured that token holders were getting the returns they were promised.
The Benefits of TaaS Crypto
One of the biggest benefits of TaaS was that it made it easier for people to take that first step and invest in digital assets. Instead of having to figure out how to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their own, token holders could just buy TaaS tokens and let the TaaS team handle the rest.
This approach has been successful. TaaS generated quarterly profits every year after its launch. This made it a reliable source of income for people looking to invest in crypto.
The History of TaaS Cryptocurrency
TaaS was founded by a team of experienced professionals in the crypto space. The 4 core founders were Ruslan Gavrilyuk, Konstantin Pysarenko, Dimitri Chupryna and Maksym Muratov. With a background in finance, these guys figured out there are enough people who want to invest in blockchains but don’t want to deal with it directly.
After its initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, TaaS grew its portfolio and formed partnerships with major players in the industry.
How to Invest in TaaS Cryptocurrency
You can not longer invest in TaaS. If you find anyone selling this token pleae inform this article in the comments below. You would be a sucker for buying it because the underlying fund is closed though.
Conclusion
In conclusion, TaaS was a unique and innovative cryptocurrency that offered a new way for early adopters to invest in digital assets. Cryptocurrency exchanges were in their infancy and the TaaS team brought in investment experience into a place that was lacking it. It sounds like TaaS offered a good return for those who invested at the time. No further information is given as to the reasons for terminating the fund.
I hope this guide has been helpful in explaining what TaaS cryptocurrency is and how it works.
Hey, if you like delving into now defunct cryptos check out my article on how to buy pancat cryptocurrecny and why you should not.