Hedera Hashgraph raises $100M via private ICO to build what it claims will be much faster and more secure distributed ledger technology than current blockchains
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat :
Context & Ripple Effects
Hedera Hashgraph's $100M private ICO sits at the start of a three-year arc the related coverage traces out: first the raise itself to fund a hashgraph ledger pitched as faster and more secure than blockchains, then IBM becoming the first major tech company to back the project in 2019 (IBM's endorsement), and finally investors being asked to wait longer for their tokens as the price cratered (the token-delay request).
The raise also landed in a crowded field of speed-claim ledgers — months later ThunderCore raised $50M from Arrington XRP, Pantera and SV Angel on a claim of running 100X faster than Ethereum and Bitcoin (ThunderCore's raise) — making throughput claims the standard fundraising pitch of that cycle.
First-order effects
- Hedera gains a $100M war chest from a private (accredited-investor) sale, letting it fund ledger development without a public token launch.
- Buyers' tokens are locked pending delivery, so their returns are tied entirely to Hedera shipping a working network rather than secondary-market trading.
Second-order effects
- Rivals respond in kind: ThunderCore's $50M raise shows competing platforms matching the 'much faster than Bitcoin/Ethereum' pitch to attract the same investor pool.
- Enterprise validation becomes the differentiator — IBM's backing gives Hedera a credibility lever that pure token-sale competitors lack.
Third-order effects
- When token prices fall faster than development timelines, issuers are pushed into managing supply directly — asking investors to delay receipt to prop up price, a governance move that blurs the line between protocol builder and market maker.
- The pattern points toward enterprise endorsement (IBM-style) mattering more than raw throughput claims for which alternative-ledger projects survive past their ICO.
The trend: Alternative distributed-ledger projects of this cycle are funded by large private token sales built on speed claims over incumbent blockchains, with their survival hinging on enterprise backers and token-price management.