BudTrader.com was successful in raising $150k in the crypto currency bitcoin via a PPM private offering from two separate parties at the MJ Biz Con last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. BudTrader.com CEO Brad McLaughlin met with investors at BudTrader’s booth on the convention floor, along with CTO Scott Edge and high up members of the brand’s tech team. MJ Biz Con is the pre-eminent conference for professionals looking at emerging technology, markets, and ideas in the Cannabis industry.
CEO Brad McLaughlin says that this wasn’t the first time that BudTrader’s investors have used bitcoins to fund their stake in the company. He estimates that almost 40% of the investment capital they’ve raised has been in bitcoins. “One of the first questions I ask a potential investor in BudTrader is – do they invest in crypto currency (bitcoin)? If I get a blank stare back or a no answer, I know that BudTrader isn’t the right investment for them. To understand BudTrader, our company culture and what we’re trying to accomplish you’ll need to understand technology, you’ll need to understand block chain and you’ll need to understand bitcoin and crypto currency.”
McLaughlin went on to state, “I’ve seen the future of the cannabis industry, and its future is bright. The world will be a much better, safer, happier and healthier place in the next five years thanks to Cannabis, technology and crypto.”
The boardroom-like atmosphere at the BudTrader.com tent at MJ Biz Con was markedly different from the brand’s high-profile, often over the top events that they have been known for in the past. McLaughlin and CTO Scott Edge were a constant presence at the tent, giving frequent presentations to investors, without the BudTrader Babes, a team of models who are normally on hand at BudTrader events. BudTrader has been disrupting both cannabis and tech over the last 15 months since its inception. According to McLaughlin, “We have to Moneyball it to compete. We do everything differently and that’s what’s made us successful.”
McLaughlin and BudTrader have been featured in virtually every business and cannabis news outlet recently. They received their trademark from the US Patent and Trademark Office after 18 months of legal battles. Trademarks are rarely awarded to cannabis related businesses due to federal cannabis laws. Facebook also recently suspended BudTrader’s Facebook pages for promoting illegal activity, due to cannabis being federally illegal. BudTrader rallied their user base and appealed Facebooks decision. The brand was successful in winning their Facebook pages back over the course of 2 weeks.
BudTrader.com is already the largest online medical marijuana marketplace. The unique platform allows its one-million registered users to post cannabis-related ads for free.
Much of the discussion around the BudTrader booth was centered on the brand’s future growth plans, including providing more options for its users to engage in more secure and legal transactions through its platform. This included future plans for dispute resolution, 3rd party lab test data storage and even collecting tax revenue from the BudTrader platform for municipalities using block chain and crypto currency.
The one question McLaughlin was asked the most? ‘Is BudTrader going to create its own crypto coin/bitcoin?’ BudTrader.com, which has more than 1 million registered users in 29 states and Washington DC, could potentially offer a pot crypto currency to its users (which include growers, distributors, delivery services, patients and more). This could solve a lot of banking, security and compliance headaches as well as solve a lot of problems for law makers. In addition, a pre-iCO crypto coin could be an ideal way for BudTrader to raise money without giving up equity.
McLaughlin wouldn’t go as far as to confirm rumors of a possible BudTrader crypto currency. In a statement, McLaughlin said, “My tech team and I are exploring all options to make the cannabis industry as organized, safe and secure as possible, as quickly as possible.”
See the full story http://themarijuanajournal.org/journal/budtrader-com-raises-150k-via-bitcoin-at-mj-biz-con-in-las-vegas
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