Automotive startup Elio Motors is launching its own cryptocurrency ElioCoin with help from financial firm Jones Trading and online retailer Overstock.com (TIKER: OSTK.NASDAQ), The Drive reports.
ElioCoin will be offered as a "Securitized Token Offering," meaning it will be subject to stricter regulations and offered only to financial institutions and accredited investors.
According to the report, Overstock.com is currently negotiating to become the lead investor in the ElioCoin sale, and the tokens will be traded on Overstock subsidiary tZero.
Established by Paul Elio in 2009 the company has been promoting a small and reasonably-priced three-wheeled vehicle ever since.
Back in 2015, the firm launched a fundraising campaign and raised $20 million This allowed the company to collect a small amounts of money from a large group of investors.
While it claims to have 65,000 reservations for its three-wheeler, Elio says that it hopes to start production 76 weeks after the ElioCoin fundraising round, meaning vehicles won't start rolling off the assembly line until 2019 at the earliest.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan