The Eidoo ICO raised a total of $27.9 million following a flurry of media attention surrounding the full-page Wall Street Journal advertisement it used to troll outspoken bitcoin critic Jamie Dimon.
As CCN has reported, JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon has long been one of cryptocurrency’s most vociferous skeptics. Despite claims that he does not care about bitcoin and will no longer comment on it publicly, he has repeatedly attacked the flagship cryptocurrency as “a fraud” and has called people who invest in bitcoin “stupid”. Moreover, he even threatened to fire any JPMorgan employee who was caught trading bitcoin.
This statement caught the attention of Eidoo, a crypto startup that is developing a user-friendly multi-currency mobile wallet and hybrid cryptocurrency exchange, and the project’s founders realized Dimon’s bombastic statements presented them with the perfect opportunity to spread the word about Eidoo while also poking fun at bitcoin skeptics like Dimon. “It was such an obvious link for us that we couldn’t resist,” the founders said.
Eidoo purchased a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal that beckoned traders to enter the crypto economy and download the startup’s mobile app. “Maybe Jamie will fire you,” the ad said, “but you’re free to trade in the crypto world.”
“Contrary to popular belief we have absolutely nothing against Jamie Dimon,” Eidoo’s founders told CCN in an email interview. “We just want to raise awareness about blockchain technologies and what better way to do it than having a little bit of fun in the process.”
The ad did not advertise that Eidoo was conducting an initial coin offering (ICO), but it did attract a great deal of attention to the startup. The Eidoo ICO ultimately raised $27.9 million, which the startup says it will use to achieve its “ambitious roadmap of product development,” which includes the introduction of a wallet-linked debit card, as well as an “ICO Engine” that will allow platform users to easily participate in ICOs themselves.