Editor’s note: This article was updated on Sept. 29 to correct Jordan Fried’s role in the Hedera Hashgraph (CCC:HBAR-USD) distributed ledger network.
Jordan Fried wants to put the power of the blockchain into the hands of every single person. To do so, he plans to first acquire a slice of every notable corner of the industry using his blockchain holdings startup, Immutable Holdings (NEO:HOLD). And starting today, investors will be able to buy into his huge portfolio of blockchain products through HOLD stock.
His vision is so robust and so well thought out, in fact, that Fried has secured the financial backing of entrepreneur and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary. And today, the pair is ringing the bell to usher in a new era for blockchains and the democratization of data. With its listing on the NEO Exchange, Immutable Holdings is moving investors toward the future of data tokenization.
Long before the days of blockchain technology and crypto startups, Fried gained his first exposure to tech. “I have a kid, and we’re constantly regulating how much time he has on the iPad. When I grew up, there was no concept of screen time. I got to build these motherboards and build these machines and learn about computer networking. That was my upbringing.”
His interest in computers stayed with him throughout his life. While running one of his first tech startups, Buffered VPN, he stumbled upon Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD). Enthralled with the world of digital currency, Fried served as a member of the founding team for the Hedera Hashgraph (CCC:HBAR-USD) network, which now stands as one of the largest distributed ledger networks in the world.
Fried took Hedera to the market and beyond, ultimately securing a partnership between the network and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google Cloud. Now, as he pushes on, Fried wants to target accessibility, and he’s doing that through Immutable.
HOLD Stock Flexes a Deep Portfolio of Blockchain Projects
“Our mission at Immutable is to bring the value of blockchain technology and this new asset class — cryptocurrency — to all the people on planet Earth,” says Fried of his newest venture. “Right now, people on planet Earth still don’t have internet access. And behind food, water, shelter, clothing, medicine, this access to information should be a basic human right.”
Enter Immutable, what Fried sees as the “Berkshire of Blockchain.” The company has built a portfolio of subsidiary companies that Fried and his backers believe to be offering crucial products to users.
Take, for instance, 1-800-Bitcoin. “I had a really unfair upbringing; I grew up with a technologist as a parent that helped me learn how to program and build machines,” Fried said. “Not everyone had that upbringing, and with 1-800-Bitcoin, we will provide a new level of access to information about blockchain technology and digital assets like Bitcoin.”
Through the company’s toll-free phone number and the Bitcoin for Everyone guidebook the company offers, Fried and Immutable are removing one of the steepest barriers to entry for consumers. Simply dial 1-800-BITCOIN, pay a shipping and handling fee, and receive a copy of the guide teaching all you need to know about blockchain technology.
Immutable Seeks to Bring NFTs to a Broader Market
Moreover, Fried recognizes the vast importance non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will play in the future of data storage. Where most companies are phoned into NFTs as a store of value, such as through digital art, Immutable sees more. “[NFTs] allow you to take a real-world, typically illiquid, tangible item — like an authenticity certificate to a Rolex or seats five and six, row seven, section 101 at Madison Square Garden — and tokenize it and represent your ownership of that.”
In Fried’s vision, NFTs can also represent so much more. Instead of hanging a college diploma on your wall, you can communicate your social capital through NFTs you own. In this future, your worth to others can be tracked on the blockchain.
Looking to cash in on this reality, Immutable subsidiary NFT.com works to make these tokens more accessible.
“We’ve created a concept of using an NFT as a sign-on authentication to a profile where you can do two things,” Fried said. “If you’re a collector, you can display all of your NFTs and proudly display that you own them. If you’re a creator, you can create NFTs. Whether you’re Sotheby’s or an influencer and you want a special line of NFTs, all of that is possible on a self-service issuance platform that we’ll be rolling out on NFT.com. That’s really just the starting point.”
These holdings add up to quite the portfolio, but most are still in various stages of development. 1-800-BITCOIN is on the verge of a rollout, with Fried’s book beginning to hit stores. NFT.com and other ventures must just now come to market.
Fried and O’Leary Ring in the First Day of HOLD Stock Trading
It’s Immutable’s business model that allows it to tap into so many corners of the crypto market. Through its six subsidiaries and counting, it touches NFTs, asset management, education, central bank digital currency (CBDC) development, and more. It’s also making these purchases with speed; it has closed a majority of these acquisitions throughout the last year and a half.
Now, individual investors will have a chance to benefit from Immutable’s business thanks to its public offering on Canada’s NEO Exchange. After a nearly $5 million capital raise, the company is set to go public through a reverse merger with Bexar Ventures.
Starting today, Immutable stock will be available via the HOLD symbol. The listing will provide great exposure for investors looking to get into crypto with its range of holdings; Immutable is one of the first in a wave of publicly traded holding companies focusing on blockchain technology.
The public listing caps off a busy few years for Immutable. Helping Fried ring in the company’s first moments of trading on the NEO floor this morning was Kevin O’Leary. Through his O’Leary Ventures outfit, he is one of the company’s top funders.
And investors would be right to appreciate Mr. Wonderful’s star power. O’Leary is a huge reason for the company’s $150 million in assets under management. Indeed, he injected the cash necessary to fund its aggressive deals. Speaking on the company and its many subsidiaries, the Shark Tank star hones in on NFTs as the future of the industry. “NFT.com is where the puck is going,” O’Leary says. “The opportunity to build profiles in the NFT space with such a powerful and important domain name is why what Immutable Holdings is doing is so valuable.”
Why Does Fried See NEO as the Best Exchange for HOLD Stock?
The NEO is a relatively new stock market exchange, originally launching in Canada in 2015. It hosts over 150 companies, including some of the most boundary-pushing ventures in the world. With its listing today, Immutable will be joining the likes of psychedelic medicine play MindMed (NASDAQ:MNMD) — which initially launched on the NEO Exchange — and WonderFi (NEO:WNDR).
As Fried tells it, HOLD stock is launching on NEO particularly because of its forward-thinking listings. “U.S. markets are not nearly as progressive as we’ve seen Canadian markets be to new emerging trends in business,” he says. “[NEO] allows us to be entrepreneurial and progressive in the type of businesses we want to run. Our sincere hope is that the U.S. markets catch up; we’d love to see Immutable dual-listed one day.”
Fried’s sentiment about the U.S. market’s treatment of crypto assets closely mirrors the feelings of many DeFi entrepreneurs. For instance, Mike Novogratz joins Fried in preferring the Canadian market.
And as a senior exchange, Fried says, it includes all the same reporting requirements as the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. “We have an independent board so it does bring a level of compliance and maturity to our own internal operations. But, it allows us to still be very entrepreneurial and progressive and the type of businesses we want to run.”
What’s Next for Immutable?
So what comes next? Fried says it’s time to use the company’s newfound capital to continue its growth. Luckily for Immutable, the blockchain world is one where people tend to stick together.
“If I don’t know a person [in the blockchain industry], someone within Immutable knows them,” Fried says. “We have a huge M&A pipeline of opportunities, and a lot of them are our friends.”
The listing will mark the beginning of a new era for the company. Now, it seeks to leverage its resources across the industry. As developers of cutting-edge blockchain projects look to cash out or grow their networks, Immutable will be there ready to buy them. If you want a piece of that pie, dive into HOLD stock now.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
