According to their website, Viberate is a “crowdsourced live music ecosystem and a blockchain-based marketplace where we’re matching musicians with event organizers.” So far, Viberate’s catalogue lists over 120,000 musicians and thousands of venues across the globe.
Most ICOs exist to fund a product or platform that has yet to be built. What’s attractive about Viberate’s ICO is that Viberate already exists as a successfully functioning entity; the Viberate blockchain will simply be integrated into its pre-existing system. 
True to form, the launch of the Viberate ICO will be accompanied by a live-streamed performance of a live set from DJ UMEK, an internationally known DJ who also happens to be Viberate’s co-founder.
Viberate CEO Matej Gregorčič predicts that the Viberate ICO will reach its funding goal of US$12 million in just minutes. He was recently quoted as saying:
“We knew that we’ll stand out, because we already have a working service and a good concept. But we never dreamed of getting so much attention from the community. My phone number seems to be a valuable asset and the whole team keeps getting calls from funds and high net worth individuals we don’t even know. My partner even got a call from a Premier League football player. Crazy!”
While those who are inexperienced in the world of cryptocurrency may laugh at the ICO’s high cap, seasoned crypto community members know that the rate at which money can flow in from investors during ICOs is totally unprecedented–earlier this year, Gnosis’s ICO brought in US$12 million in just ten minutes; Brave’s ICO of “Basic Attention Tokens” pulled in a whopping $35 million in less than 30 seconds.
How do ICOs Work?
An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) is similar to an IPO (Initial Public Offering), in which the first share’s of a companies stock are sold to the public. Instead of stocks, investors buy cryptocoins that belong to a specific network. ICOs end once their funding cap is achieved, or after four weeks have passed (whichever comes first).
After the ICO closes, coins are distributed to investors accordingly. The coins can then be used on their corresponding ecosystem or traded as digital assets on eligible exchanges.
ICOs for Companies Becoming More Popular
Naturally, the fundraising potential that ICO hold has pricked the ears of companies and corporations across the globe. Viberate is just the newest in a growing line of government and business entities that want in on the action.
For example, Burger King Russia recently announced the advent of the “WhopperCoin”, which would allow users to earn Coins as rewards for their purchases. WhopperCoins could then be bought and sold on the WhopperCoin network, or used to purchase things from the Burger King menu.
Additionally, the nation of Estonia recently announced the possibility of the creation of the “Estcoin”. The “Estcoin”, which would be the national cryptocurrency of Estonia, was proposed by Kaspar Korjus, manager of Estonia’s cutting-edge eResidency program.
In a blog post last month, Korjus wrote that “A government-supported ICO would give more people a bigger stake in the future of our country and provide not just investment, but also more expertise and ideas to help us grow exponentially.”