Proxima Media, which was founded by Hollywood producer Ryan Kavanaugh, has raised $100 million for a token that allows fractional ownership of film, television, music and other IP-driven content.
Proxicoin, built on the Ethereum blockchain, has received the backing from VC firms Step Ventures and the Central Wealth Investment Fund of Hong Kong. It is fully audited and a deal has been signed with the Fusang Exchange. Proxicoin will be among the first security tokens to be listed and traded on its platform.
“This is a game-changing moment for the entertainment industry. Proxicoin makes a highly sought-after financial product available to many individual and smaller investors. Film, as an asset class, is traditionally uncorrelated to capital markets and has been a competitive and sought-after asset class among the large hedge funds and banks including Citibank, Duetsche Bank, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and many others. During the Great Depression one of the only stocks that went up was MGM,” says Vincent Tse, CEO of Step Ventures.
“Proxicoin and this transaction eliminate many of the hurdles that have held back growth between the two countries due to heavy restrictions in currency conversion. Proxicoin removes those friction points while creating total transparency. We have put together a stellar team to implement what we believe will be a serious paradigm shift in the financing and marketing of films,” says Kavanaugh who has been responsible for more than 200 films, including Fast and the Furious, Girl with Dragon Tattoo, Salt, The Fighter, and The Social Network.
“We have top bankers with a deep understanding of the capital markets, content creators, operators and brand experts. Having Central Wealth Investment Fund and Step VC as partners is a great validation for us that we are on the right track. There couldn’t be better lead investors and partners.”
Proxicoin holders will also be partial owners of Entertainment Stock X (ESX), a stock exchange-like trading platform which aims to help film and television projects raise funds via initial public offerings. Zach Kelling, founder and CEO of Hanzo, will lead development of ESX, which is set to launch by the end of 2019.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.