Cannabis IPO Brings New Opportunities For Crypto Investors

When the New York-based pro-cannabis magazine High Times now moves to become a publicly traded company, it aims to make history as the first company to accept cryptocurrencies as payment from new investors.

According to an article published in the same magazine on Thursday, High Times CEO Adam Levin said they hope the addition of cryptocurrencies will “enable a much broader group of investors worldwide” to participate in the initial public offering (IPO), which is planned for the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Ahead of the IPO, the company is already selling its shares in equity-crowdfunding process at a price of USD 11 per share, while minimum investment is USD 99.

The report did not provide any other details about the upcoming IPO.

“High Times has been at the forefront of popular culture for more than four decades,” Levin was quoted as saying in the article, adding that “now we’re taking another step into the future, not only as one of the first cannabis-related brands to go public on the Nasdaq but also as the first to allow Bitcoin and Ethereum as part of our public capital raise.”

The magazine went on to explain that although they had ruled out doing an initial coin offering (ICO) as a way to raise money, “it would be foolish to leave this emerging investor base out […]”

High Times, which has been a mouthpiece for the pro-cannabis community since 1974, further claimed that “with a magazine and online presence still going strong, many are eager to grab some shares.”

The revenue of the company stood at USD 14.6 million in 2016, while its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was USD 600,000, according to the company.

Cryptonews.com has previously reported on the race to put cannabis on the blockchain, and how the two industries indeed have much in common.

Also, if High Times succeeds with its IPO, this could help crypto adoption, as the IPO market is measured in billions of dollars. For example, the US IPO market rebounded in 2017 as 133 domestic companies went public raising USD 30.4 billion, 33 more IPOs and 79% greater value than the previous year, according to Mergermarket, M&A intelligence, data and research company.