BREAKING: Despite Ban Of Bitcoin Trading By RBZ, Golix Launches Their Own Token: GLX Token

Farai Mudzingwa Avatar

Coming off the RBZ’s recent directive instructing financial institutions to refrain from dealing with Cryptos, Golix, Zimbabwe’s first and biggest cryptocurrency exchange is soldiering on and has announced that they have launched their very own token (crypto) i.e. GLX Token.

Whether or not the RBZ’s stance is a good move is subject to debate but it looks like Golix don’t think that this directive affects their plans. It is quite telling the fact that they have launched their token sale on the very day the news of the RBZ ban broke.

They have sent out a press release announcing the developments and you can read it below:

Golix, a cryptocurrency exchange that enables Africans to have financial autonomy through cryptocurrencies, is excited to announce the launch of its token, the GLX Token.

Golix is an African fintech startup that has been facilitating African customers to buy and sell cryptocurrency, using payment channels that are predominately available to Africans, such as mobile money. Over 1 billion Africans currently do not have access to a cryptocurrency exchange that will accept the fiat in the hands of the majority and Golix will accomplish this through their token sale raise.

The GLX token, an Ethereum ERC-20 token, will be available for purchase from Monday 14 May 2018 on the Golix token sale website, tokensale.golix.com. Potential buyers can use their bitcoin (BTC) and/or ethereum (ETH) to buy the GLX token which has been priced at $0.05612 per GLX token.

Golix has been operational in Zimbabwe as an exchange for 3 years already and boasts of over 50,000 customers having transacted over US$20m to date. The funds raised will see them opening exchanges in more African countries as well as expanding their portfolio of services offered.

The total supply of GLX tokens will be 1,274,240,097 tokens, with fifty percent (637,120,049 tokens) available for sale during the token sale. The hard cap for the token sale has been set at a sale of the 637,120,049 tokens.

Golix has essectially began their Initial Coin Offering (ICO). Quick lesson: An ICO is similar to how a company gets to list on the stock exchange through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The ICO allows cryptos to grow since they are initially sold to investors before being later acquired by the general public just like shares.

In the case of Golix though, the token is not a security token meaning it is not exactly like buying shares. The GLX will have its specific benefits and functions that will give it inherent value thus it is a utility token. The idea is that if indeed this token will be deemed useful by people, it will grow in value as a result. Thus buying the token during this ‘ICO’ stage will be an investment into that possibility of growth or it would be because you want to use it for whatever its uses will be.

The uses of the GLX will be in the white paper that is published as part of the token sale. You should be able to access the white paper on the Golix website above.

Roadmap of the ICO

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Golix also released the roadmap they will follow with this ICO and they expect to be done by the 26th of June 6th of July which is just two months days away. The roadmap is as follows:

  • 12.2014 – BitFinance incorporation
  • 11.2015 – BitcoinFundi exchange launched
  • 10.2017 – Profitable after only US$63 000 investment
  • 05.2018 – Mauritius incorporation
  • 05.2018 – Token Sale Launch
  • 06.2018 – Open Office in South Africa
  • 07.2018 – Token Sale End
  • 07.2018 – List GLX token on Golix.com for trading
  • Q4 2018 – Launch exchange in new country
  • Q4 2018 – Launch Golix mobile application
  • Q4 2018 – Launch API for third-party integration
  • Q4 2018 – Launch exchange in 4 new markets

From this roadmap, it appears the Pre-Token sale has already been conducted, and this pre-Token is the period where investors are buying (or at least they are supposed to be) into the project and the funds from this often provide operational costs from whoever is ICO-ing, in this case, Golix.

Public sale

The public token sale will be starting on the 14th of this month (Monday) and will go on for the next month until the 10th of June. After this process, the GOLIX token will be listed on their exchange and trading will commence.

This ICO will see Golix issue out 1,274,240,097 tokens and these will be based on the Ethereum blockchain (ERC20).

The tokens will be issued out as follows:

  • 10% Marketing, investment fund, partners
  • 15% issued to investors, shareholders
  • 25% founding team, future employees
  • 50% Open market token sale

It’s going to be an interesting few weeks for Golix and co as they handle the drama around the RBZ’s directive alongside with their ICO and it will be interesting to see the outcome after everything is done and dusted.

GLX_Tokensale_Litepaper

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37 comments

  1. Oracle

    This gets interesting by the day. The total foolishness of the RBZ vs the inovation of Zimbabweans. Lets see who wins. I for one realize the total folly of the RBZ. I have a large hoard of bitcoin. Even if they shut down Zim banks completely, there are a million ways to still get my money.

  2. ShameOnRBZ

    On which other exchanges will the token be tradeable beside Golix? If not Binance, Poloniex or Bittrex then it will not be very attractive to buy for trade or HODLing. But I guess $25 worth of GLX would not be a total waste should it go to dust like 95% of all crypto tokens!

    1. William Chui

      Hey there, I am William, Head of Marketing for Golix.

      I speak on before of the company when I respond to you here.

      Our token will be trade-able on our platform (Golix.com) while we will explore the opportunity of listing on others. However, what we will do is list more tokens and improve on liquidity so that there is no need to go to the other exchanges that you mention, but trade on ours.

      There are other incentives as to why one would want the token, not just where it will be listed. One of the uses of the token is to get zero transaction fees on our platform when one trades, among others.

    2. Van Lee Chigwada

      This is exactly why Crypto-C is being banned. Unclear fragmentation with 1,000s of cryptos that only work in one place.

  3. Shindi Tapera

    We support you Golix.

    1. William Chui

      Thank you for your support. We appreciate

  4. Spoofy’s Brother

    “The funds raised will see them opening exchanges in more African countries…” Really? I doubt that very much. The nature of cryptocurrencies exchanges is that they are not limited by borders so this supposed reason for raising funds not adding up. Big exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp and Bitfinex don’t have multiple exchanges in different countries. They have one exchange in one country catering for global customers. Golix need to explain this empty statement.

    Also with the founders/owners having such a large allocation and the token being traded on their own exchange only opens it to manipulation on a grand scale. What will stop them from pushing up the price through wash trading and then dumping on innocent investors who know no better? This is a scandal waiting to happen.

    Such shenanigans are the reason crypto gets a bad reputation with forced regulation coming in very soon.

    Golix take note from Venezula’s petrodollars cryptocurrencies…you could be going down that road!

    Techzim we expect better responsible reporting from you, especially when you are promoting a business that you are well known for having connections to. I assume you got the 10% allocation that is for “marketing/partner”

    1. Satoshi Nakamoto

      Yeah, they preparing for an exit scam especially after the RBZ directive. They have lost their banking, are they going to become a tether based exchange?

      1. William Chui

        I won’t dignify this with a response.

    2. Tinashe Nyahasha

      Hey Spoofy you raise very important questions there.
      We have to look into what the block you quoted means exactly. The risk of manipulation of the token value is real. Will have to go through their white paper to better understand.

      No we are not participating in their marketing campaign unless they decide to buy banner adverts. We decided not to because of the obvious conflict and the fact that cryptos are not something that we can boldly promote to our readers, they are still unproven and it would be irresponsible for us to just promote GLX whilst this new technology is not as clear even to ourselves.

      Thanks for keeping us accountable

    3. Happy Go Lucky

      @Spoofy’s Brother It makes sense that Golix has to physically operate in the country they want to allow trade. Unlike Coinbase, Golix leverages local payment platforms accessible to local communities in Africa like mobile money, local banks etc as opposed to VISA/Mastercard. To enable seemeless payments they must physically setup shop in that country to integrate with local banks, meet regulations etc. This is why most people in Zimbabwe trade cryptos on Golix as opposed to Coinbase. this seamless integration is where the power of Golix as a crypto currency based cross-border payment platform lies, it is not not an exchange. Most people used the platform to facilitate cross-boarder payment and not to buy and hold cryptos.

    4. William Chui

      Hi there, I am William, Head of Marketing at Golix. I’m directly involved in the token sale.

      “The nature of cryptocurrencies exchanges is that they are not limited by borders so this supposed reason for raising funds not adding up.” We have found that to be otherwise running a successful exchange in Zimbabwe for the past 3 years.

      When we speak of an “exchange” it is in reference to a business unit that will operate in a specific jurisdiction, i.e. a country. Unlike just “turning on a country” and allowing people from that place to trade, one has to allow users in that country to be able to use their local fiat through channels that are accessible to the users in that country.

      An example would be what we have done in Zimbabwe, allowed our Zimbabwean users to use their bond notes, to buy cryptocurrency through mobile money, such as Ecocash. No exchange in the world, besides Golix, allows any African to use their mobile money to buy crypto.

      Added to this is the distrust that Africans have towards bitcoin/crypto due to the ponzi schemes that have sprouted over the years (MMM anyone?) and conned many a-people. Hence we have needed to set up front end offices, that not only allow customers to walk in and get support, but also for them to know that we are legit and have a presence that they can come to if the need be.

      “Big exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp and Bitfinex don’t have multiple exchanges in different countries.” Yes, this is true, but these platforms not only don’t accept registrations from a number of countries (as Zimbabweans we know this) but also require one to have a means of payment that is acceptable to them, Visa/MasterCard. I know for certain that in a “stable economy” like Botswana you can only make an online payment with a credit card, not a debit. Many Motswanas don’t have credit cards, hence they’re no able to buy crypto.

      “Also with the founders/owners having such a large allocation and the token being traded on their own exchange only opens it to manipulation on a grand scale.” We have a smart contract that will not only mint our tokens but also that will issue tokens for the founding team and future employees, vested over a four year period. Our smart contract is being audited by one of the best security companies in the space, https://hosho.io/, and will be uploaded to GitHub once done. We are confident that the integrity that we have built over the years is evident enough to assure token holders that insider manipulation of the price is something that won’t happen.

      “Techzim we expect better responsible reporting from you, especially when you are promoting a business that you are well known for having connections to. I assume you got the 10% allocation that is for “marketing/partner”” Techzim will be better placed to respond to this, however, I’d hasten to say that if you’d make such a comment about them then you haven’t been following them long enough…

      1. Spoofy’s Brother

        @William, thank you for response. You have clarified some items of concern. Golix seems to have it’s heart and intentions in the right place, lets hope you are able to jump and manage the regulatory hurdles ahead and list your token successfully.

        Wish you guys all the best!

        1. William Chui

          Thank you for your well-wishes, we appreciate

  5. Happy Go Lucky

    there is a difference between Blockchain and Bitcoin, Blockchain is the future, however, cryptos are a highly volatile speculative instrument susceptible to abuse. $20million dollars went un-taxed on the Golix platform to who knows where. The RBZ has shut the door on crypto currencies, tax evasion and flouting of forex exchange regulations, the opportunities for Blockchain are still abound. Blockchain is the future not necessarily Bitcoin. Golix should move away from creaming money off of the forex blackmarket in Zim, instead they should come up with an actual useful technology that uses block chain, an exchange is not innovation, its a way to send money to Zimbabwe without paying tax and the rBZ will stop any day.

    1. William Chui

      Hi there, I am William, Head of Marketing at Golix. I’m directly involved in the token sale.

      “Cryptos are a highly volatile speculative instrument susceptible to abuse.” Yes this is very true and we’ve seen in our educational activities that a lot of “undoing of mindsets” has been needed to be done.

      “$20million dollars went un-taxed on the Golix platform to who knows where.” When you make a payment through your bank, say $20m, are you taxed on the payment or on the receipt of goods? When the goods land in the country, ZIMRA, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority then steps in and asks you to pay various duties, which then equate to “tax”. You are taxed at the point of goods entering the country and not at point of payment. At the payment stage, you will pay a transaction fee to your bank, and in this transaction fee there will be taxes that will be remitted to the Government. Golix likewise, would charge users transaction fees for making their trade on the platform and then remit taxes to the tax authority as and when due. On the volume mentioned, taxes were paid.

      “The RBZ has shut the door on crypto currencies, tax evasion and flouting of forex exchange regulations”. While I will not comment on what RBZ have done I’m interested to know where “tax evasion” may be taking place? As well as which forex regulations were being flouted as bitcoin has not been classified as a currency?

      “Golix should move away from creaming money off of the forex blackmarket in Zim”. This is unfounded and I’d be interested to hear from you where we are “creaming money off the forex black market”?

      “its a way to send money to Zimbabwe without paying tax” Again I ask, where and how are taxes not being paid?

      1. Happy Go Lucky

        Financial institutions that handle cross border payments today pay licenses and fees to gvt, regulators and local authorities…. in the case of Golix these are all mostly forgon (this creates an unfair playing field and discourages formal entry into the industry by registered money transfer companies in favor of virtual exchanges) . When people transfer or receive money from outside the country through Money Transfer Agencies they are vetted and must provide documentation including proof of residence, use of funds etc these are checks and balances that ensure that money is being moved between borders legally, for legal purposes and to legal persons, consider terrorism, bribes, drug trade etc and the danger this poses when these checks are flouted, Golix boasts its ability to circumvent all this, Im sure from the gvt’s point of view you can see the threats that exist already and the opportunity for abuse. A multinational company can essentially launder and move money out of the country without declaring profits or even being registered locally by converting local proceeds into cryptos and then selling it out of the country for forex without paying taxes, without channels like Golix, all this is extremely difficult and risky today, it must remain so. So in that sense I maintain my stance that “The RBZ has shut the door on crypto currencies, tax evasion and flouting of forex exchange regulations”

        Golix is creaming money off of the black market precisely because the business model is predicated on the existence of a variance between a formal exchange rate and a black market exchange rate for currency, this creates an opportunity for arbitrage and thus explains the premium that exists on the exchange. In a market like RSA where there is no forex black market to talk about, the business model will struggle thus I maintain that “Golix should move away from creaming money off of the forex blackmarket in Zim”. You must remember that even the forex dealers at Eastgate are also less sophisticated exchanges between sellers and buyers, that doesn’t make them any legal does it. Golix has automated the same principle and brings security for participants of an illegal activity.

        1. William Chui

          “Financial institutions that handle cross border payments today pay licenses and fees to gvt, regulators and local authorities…. in the case of Golix these are all mostly forgon (this creates an unfair playing field and discourages formal entry into the industry by registered money transfer companies in favor of virtual exchanges).” I will have you know that Golix pays fees to Government (incorporated in the taxes that we remit as well as transaction fees that we are levied by our partner financial institutions) as well as to local authorities. If it has been concluded that the services we are providing is covered by a Money Transfer Agency licence, then Golix can entertain such a conversation. To say “an unfair playing field” is akin to saying that a trader in Mbare, who is not subjected to similar fees that a shop in CBD is made to pay, has “an unfair advantage” in selling their vegetable produce. Though selling similar products, it is the choice of a customer as to which option they’d prefer. Worse still, if those products are priced at a exorbitant amount, do we still protect the said incumbents?

          “When people transfer or receive money from outside the country through Money Transfer Agencies they are vetted and must provide documentation including proof of residence, use of funds etc these are checks and balances that ensure that money is being moved between borders legally, for legal purposes and to legal persons, consider terrorism, bribes, drug trade etc and the danger this poses when these checks are flouted, Golix boasts its ability to circumvent all this” A number of things are flawed here. 1. KYC takes place at two points; the banks from where money is transferred to Golix as well as on Golix. So all this falls away. Added to this, please show me/us where “Golix boosts of our ability to circumvent KYC/AML regulations”.

          “A multinational company can essentially launder and move money out of the country without declaring profits or even being registered locally by converting local proceeds into cryptos and then selling it out of the country for forex without paying taxes” That said multinational company will sell its products/services for local fiat, which they will either receive in cash (please tell me one multinational company selling for strictly cash in Zimbabwe?) or for “transfer” (money in a bank account). When that money hits their bank account, the bank has a record of that transaction. The Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) requires said multinational company to submit their financials at the end of the year and ZIMRA have access to the bank accounts of the said multinational company to validate what they would have logged in their financial returns. I am failing to understand how they will launder money, where there is the bank and ZIMRA that makes sure such does not happen. Maybe you can explain a scenario to help me understand.

          “The RBZ has shut the door on crypto currencies, tax evasion and flouting of forex exchange regulations” How exactly is tax evasion taking place through the use of cryptocurrencies? I doubt that should cryptocurrency be banned that Zimbabwe will see tax evasion and flouting of forex exchange regulations ceasing going forward.

          “Golix is creaming money off of the black market precisely because the business model is predicated on the existence of a variance between a formal exchange rate and a black market exchange rate for currency, this creates an opportunity for arbitrage and thus explains the premium that exists on the exchange.” Few things I’m interested in knowing here. 1. How are Golix, the company, doing this? 2. Who is benefiting from the mentioned arbitrage? 3. How exactly are they benefiting?

          In a market like RSA where there is no forex black market to talk about, the business model will struggle thus I maintain that “Golix should move away from creaming money off of the forex blackmarket in Zim”. FYI cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, also receive a premium in South Africa, getting as high as 25% at times. Even though “there is no parallel market” there, which I think you don’t have the right facts, as there is a thriving parallel market for forex in SA (I digress). “Golix should move away from creaming money off of the forex blackmarket in Zim” How exactly does Golix “cream” forex? All transactions to our exchange are through transfer, of bank balances. Where does the forex come into the equation?

  6. Tawanda Nyagwaya

    Where is the whitepaper?

    1. William Chui
  7. Nice

    Looks like the end of golix… Their business model that made them useful is now redundant… Hence the ico offering… Which will probably call in the 97% that fail… But hey they already made their money… Blockchain is future… Bitcoin is kind of like a social marketing ponsi… What’s the difference between mavrodi and bitcoin when it comes to the basics… You get the coin then upsell to colleagues hence increase demand and value…

    1. William Chui

      Hi there, I am William, Head of Marketing at Golix. I’m directly involved in the token sale.

      As of now we are yet to get communication from our bank as to what the position is, however as are liasing with both them and the regulators. Our token sale was in the making long before today.

      Yes, cryptocurrency will need to prove itself and it’s usefulness beyond speculative activities.

  8. shingi

    crypto currency is the future,thus why we always say laggereds has to go..they always stands on way of change the world is dynamic and crypto currency had to be there

  9. Sacha

    Rooting for you Golix, crypto is unstoppable, it’s the people’s democracy

  10. Nice

    Now it finally makes sense… William chui who well connected to techzim is the head of golix marketing… That’s why all the techzim articles are one sided… Furthermore just cause you waiting for your bank does not mean the writing is on the wall… Techzim themselves were promoting this avenue… Why don’t you mention that the price mobile money and the price in USD has a huge disparity… I’m not saying that that’s wrong but the business model is just exploitative… You literally spirited 20milli9n away without giving anything back

    1. William Chui

      Hi there, I am a former employee of Techzim yes, but now I’m totally with Golix. Techzim are objective and would never (I believe) let my working their get in their way for giving value to their readers. If you notice the comment by Tinashe Nyahasha above, they are very transparent when it comes to reporting.

      “Why don’t you mention that the price mobile money and the price in USD has a huge disparity…” We run an exchange, which essentially is a marketplace, where users come buy and sell crypto. Sellers set the price at which they want to sell their crypto and Buyers come and take them up at that offer. Golix is not involved in setting the price in any way. The price that bitcoin at our ATM is based on an international exchange and again is not set by us.

      “ou literally spirited 20million away without giving anything back.” Do tell me how we did that?If anything, we kept $20m from leaving the country, if you ask me.

      1. Full Disclosure Please

        You are not being completely honest with regards to your interests in Techzim…
        “Name: William Chui
        Position: VP of Misc Stuff
        Bio: Co-founder Controvert Media (owners of Techzim and Pindula). Founder of SocialMe
        LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrwilliamchui/“

        Source: Golix core team line up

        1. William Chui

          Yes, as a co-founder of Controvert Media, I was an employee at Techzim. The explanation I opted to go with was the basic bare bones one, that was easier for one to understand and not to conceal anything.

          We can go deeper and start stating organisations like Afrispark, the holding company of Techzim, but the essence of it all is that I was of the employ of Techzim and no longer am.

    2. Tinashe Nyahasha

      Hi Nice
      Yes William Chui was with Techzim (an integral member of our team then). We were obviously sad to see him go but he is with Golix now.
      For that reason, we kindly declined to consider sponsored content on behalf of Golix because we knew objectivity would be difficult. The second reason we have decided not to take part in crypto (ICO) bounties is the fact that cryptos are yet to prove themselves hence to step out and advise people to buy them or trade in them would not be inline with our policies on sponsored content.

  11. Spoofy’s Brother

    @Farai & William, what date does the sale end? Techzim says 10 June but Golix whitepaper says 6 July. Which is it? I like this idea of zero trading fees!

    1. William Chui

      The total duration of the Golix Token Sale is 54 days and will end on July 6, 2018. Apologies for the discrepancies. Farai most probably may have obtained his information from a previous version of our Whitepaper.

  12. Cryptofundi

    Zvaazvinhu. Better this way than bond. Ico is the way to go. There is no exchange that accepts bond but glx will be accepted on many exchanges.

  13. Ryan

    Good on Golix for pressing on in the face of RBZ resistance, and I wish them luck. I just want to run through the figures quickly and see if I am doing this correctly…

    1 274 240 097 tokens @ $0.05612 puts the total value at $71.5 million, of which the founders are taking half immediately for various disbursements. That seems a pretty steep valuation, what is it based on?

    1. William Chui

      Hi there Ryan, I am William, Head of Marketing at Golix. I’m directly involved in the token sale.

      Our smart contract is minting 1,274,240,097 GLX tokens (meaning that that is the total amount of tokens that will be create and the maximum amount that will be in circulation). 637,120,049 GLX tokens, or 50%, will be available for purchase during the token sale.

      Of the other 50%, 10% will go to marketing, 15% to investors and shareholders while 25% will go to the founding team and future employees. The 25% to the team will be vested over a 4 year period, meaning that the smart contract will release them in 4 equal batches over 4 years.

      The valuation of the token is $0.05612 per GLX token and we came up with this figure based on what the token will be able to do; i.e. offer zero transaction fees when one does a trade through a GLX trading pair, zero rated transaction fees for 100,000 and above token holders, as well as offering 100,000 and above token holders the opportunity to co-invest in projects that are advancing the adoption of crytocurrency in Africa.

  14. Anxious to see where this goes

    @ William Chui So… the Token sale is live now, but I can’t seem to purchase any tokens… how does one actually go about purchasing said tokens?

  15. Thomas

    Yep these authorities, am amazed and disappointed to say the least. Back in 2012 I even suggested that as Zimbabwe we should use Bitcoin for our exports but the reason why that can’t happen as usual has come out and mostly being ignorant.

    Sorry to my folks but as Zimbos I know this is just a challenge we can overstep in a bit.

    Have just published my special report on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, hope if the governer also reads it he will then reverse his decision.

    You can get it from my blog at bitcryptoguide.blogpost.com or simply go to my Twitter @Bitcoinguide2

  16. Stavo

    This move is a clear sign that the old face of the financial sector would be a barrier in terms of technological development due to ignorance and resistance to change to face the world current stance on Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin.
    I am really annoyed by the great blackout of ignorance from the Governor of RBZ, as they only would want to support system that would make them benefit first and they want total control , however Cryptocurrency is not that kind of money in particular Bitcoin its a decentralized currency not controlled by Government but by people themselves.
    The position of RBZ is uncalled for and am one of these people who does investment in Cryptocurrency since 2016 and I have seen the need to have this as a remedy to our current economic situation and to address the cash crisis.
    Remember Bond note is not money but Golix has made it easy for every individual to be part of the cryto assets even with Bond by facilitate the transaction allowing the trade to be done henceforth.
    I am challenging the position by our RBZ , an based in South Africa and you find that here they are now putting ATMs in Spars and other places for Bitcoin and Altcoins but why our country is still trailing ! Altcointrader.co.za, Luno.com , Localbitcoin.com and many more exchange platforms are licenced to trade in Cryptocurrency in South Africa and we thought Zimbabwe by having Golix as the only exchange platform founded by our own people that will pay a way to great height in the cryto- world but this RBZ position is a disappointing end to all the efforts to improve our country. This reminds me of Great Strive Masiyiwa battle to get a Licence to run a mobile network versus the Government position of monopolistic advantage of the NetOne then its the same as what we are seeing now!
    The issue of Old aged versus the new Technological Aged people!

    I am really going to be conducting business seminars at Batanai Gardens just to explore on how people can be part of the Cryptocurrency space. My whatsAp number its still the same +27839594066 for further discussions
    Thanks

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