Token sale now over.

Check out our debrief here: https://medium.com/astronaut-capital/astronaut-token-sale-closing-quick-update-412199de09d0

It doesn't affect it. 30 million was a nominal target to put down however with little OPEX, we simply scale position sizing down.

Thanks for your comments.

Astronaut has been somewhat 'under the radar' with the vast majority of our participants coming from our own research team at Picolo Research.

While we acknowledge that bounties such as signature campaigns can do extremely well, we wanted to do things a bit more organically and attract certain types of investors.

Our ICO is not 'hyped', nor do we want it to be given the current state of the market with 'pump and dump' issues occuring around listing.

Bounties work well for token sales that need to gather a substantial userbase after launching a product. Astronaut does not quite fit into this category. The types of investors into the token sale we are looking for are in it for the long term. Our concern was that a heavy bounty approach may cause large amounts of investors to contribute that may not really understand what we are offering, or are looking to 'head for the door' as soon as possible.

In saying this, we could be proved wrong and time will certainly tell.

Many thanks for your comments all.

Coin Remix just independently analyzed Picolo Research recommendations since inception. Please note that the analysis is assuming a buy and 'HODL' which is not the case in reality. There have been certain positions cut early to minimise risk and positions exited much higher than the analysis would suggest (DNT)
https://coinremix.com/analysts/picolo-research

We have a referral scheme set up for those active in the community:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2255409.0

Hi there,

1) we are currently in talks with 3 major exchanges seeking a listing in November. We will be releasing the names of these once we have firm agreements and dates

2) much the same with equities markets, if NAV was to be significantly higher than the capitalization of ASTRO, it would be arbitrary opportunity. Liquidation value alone would be substantial. Such discrepancies dont usually last long in markets.

3) Our technical roadmap is extremely short. We are not a tech first company however we are creating several investor tools to provide transparency around the methodology and transaction process.

4) Every token represents a partial ownership in a pool of ICOs. The more you own, the higher degree of ownership and dividends you are entitled to.

Hi

We have detailed an allocation of exposure. Effectively, the large majority goes to ICOs with the remainder in altcoins, crypto and fiat.

If you have 1000 tokens, they are pooled with everyone elses. That ownership will give you xx% right to the performance of the investments. You receive a 50% dividend every quarter followed by the remaining being reinvested into Astronaut.

We anticipated there will be between 2-3 ICOs a month that we participate in. The exposure will vary depending on the total amount raised.

Remaining tokens are burned.

Our Group Telegram Chat is now open:

https://t.me/astronautofficial

Hi to clarify a few things:

Q: if I understand this coin's vision is to supply this information to those that is willing to pay for it.

A: Token holders actually gain ownership to a basket of ICOs that Astronaut invests in. This is not simply tokens for research and information. It is tokens for direct exposure in the ICOs (backed by research)

--

Q: Telegram Group
A: We are opening a Telegram Group momentarily. We have just approved a list of moderators.

--

Q: Bounty Programs
A: We are formulating a small bounty program and will be releasing details of this in coming days.

--

Q: Alpha version
A: We are releasing invites for UX testing of the Alpha web Portal. We are setting up a platform for feedback on this.

--

Q: Exchanges
A: We haven't signed a contract with an exchange as yet so have not released any details. We will release details on this once everything is locked in

New Research report released on Etherparty (FUEL)

https://picoloresearch.com/29/etherparty-fuel

Astronaut will be testing its first version of the its Web Portal with token holders over the next few weeks

Thanks for the questions:

1. Expected return and size

Total investment will depends on the amount raised for the crowdsale. For example, if the end amount raised is closer to $15m, position sizing operating costs and everything will be scaled down almost proportionally. The rest of the tokens are burned. Our expectation is to outperform the market significantly. If you look at the returns of some other listed vehicles such as TaaS, market cap has almost tripled in that time with decent performance. Based on our analysis of market return and previous strategy, we are aiming for high ROI even in the first quarter. As you said, the more raised the better.

2. Dividends and exchange

We are currently also looking at a process for DRP, as some token holders are expressing their want to reinvest the total amount. This is understandable and we are hoping to come up with a flexible solution. The listing on exchanges is actually a technical barrier to do with dividend distribution as well. We are currently finalising discussions with a number of exchanges and hoping to release an announcement this week. It is simply a matter of which are the most flexible for ETH contributions to be made every quarter.

3.  Picolo and Spec Buy

Great question.  Spec Buy represents a lower exposure opportunity where conviction isnt 100%, however the rewards outweigh the risks for a short/medium term buy. Simply put, this affects position sizing and length of 'hold.' Astronaut holders will find that the reports released after the token sale (exclusive to them) will be quite a bit different, specifically noting the rationale behind the amount of funds placed, sizing and detailed stop loss.

4. Investment strategy

This is a question we could answer in about 15 pages  Ultimately it comes down to the following:

a) protecting risk. when a position pops in the market and significant capital gains are had, we implement a Stop Loss strategy to cash out of any existing risk therefore making it a free trade. This protects downside risk and keep long exposure.

b) continuing to scale out of volatile tokens (if short term). This comes down to raising stop loss and exit points as we see market sentiment turn adn volatility increase (or volume decrease)

c) position on the token. The above really depends on whether or not a long or short term view is made (which token holders will be advised). High conviction buys will generally be a longer term opportunity that we forecast significant +1000% growth. This means a different risk and holding strategy. The short term component employs a more active approach.

I hope this answers some of your questions - if it hasn't just let me know

Yes you can deposit ETH via an exchange. Orderbook allows any wallet or any exchange for the transfer.

Thanks See Jack.

Keeping in mind that we also have a number of operational staff. What we have listed thus far are the integral members. In managing a platform such as this and a 'close-ended' structure, it means that there is no requirement for marketing, ongoing development etc.

When it comes down to it, it is a smaller component of technology mixed with analysts and operational staff.

No hate, just uncertainty unfortunately. It looks like alot of Token Sales are leaning the same way. Sorry about that!

Thanks for the comments.

A few things:

Astronaut is an evolution by the team at Picolo Research. The team has actively been moulding this Token Sale based on the feedback and contribution of the 10,000+ subscribers there.

We have avoided bounty campaigns to date, instead trying to focus on the value offering of the platform.

The dates you see on the whitepaper are anticipated based on the demand from the prospective market. It may seem rushed on this forum, however we have been actively gaining feedback on Astronaut for over 3 months now.

Some other questions highlighted:

30,000,000 cap

The cap is simply there to show our maximum goal. All remaining tokens will be burned.

Picolo Research and Astronaut

Picolo Research has been operating for over 12 months in the token space doing private consulting before turning into a public facing research house.  Astronaut many months ago was created based on the feedback from the subscribers. The majority of personnel in the team (and others not mentioned being more operational) have come from Picolo Research.

Social Links

You can find the Twitter here: https://twitter.com/astronautcap
And here: https://twitter.com/picoloresearch


We thank you for your feedback greatly and appreciate your comments.

As it is in presale mode, we will likely issue bounty of ASTRO out of the Investor Committee proceeds to assist with the sale of the full ICO. The team will be releasing details shortly. Hang tight.

Presale is launching tomorrow incorporating a 30% discount.

Must be registered here: http://www.astronaut.capital

Link to full research report here https://picoloresearch.com/26/paragon-pgn


Why you should avoid the Paragon ICO (PGN)

An immutable ledger for the marijuana industry

Paragon is a predominantly US based startup seeking to bring transparency, verification, and stability to the marijuana market via an ERC20 blockchain system.

The aspirations of Paragon can be summarised as the following:
1) creation of an immutable ledger for all industry related data
2) to create a marketplace using ParagonCoin (PGN) for the payment of industry related services
3) establishment of niche co-working spaces
4) create standardization of supply, management, and verification within the marijuana industry

Paragon has invested a substantial amount of time into public relations and market awareness, promoting a strong stance of complete legalization of marijuana and the positive effects it can have to consumers and industry alike.

Token Sale

Under the code PGN, Paragon is issuing 100m tokens (in its first round) with a further 100m to be issued at ‘stage 2.’ The deal structure in which Paragon employs appears to be quite complex. Over time, the number of tokens in circulation will decrease due to a transactional ‘burn,’ hence the issue of allotment (2).
A detailed use of proceeds, budget and spend on specific infrastructure is omitted within the white paper. However, there is some mention of the token allotment at the various stages. Interestingly, 40% of tokens being issued in the first round is to ‘maintain price support of PGN.’
The token sale price is currently 100,000,000 PGN for $1 each.

Tokens for Investors
The tokens received by investors after the fundraising period (PGN) are intended to be used for transactional processes established within the model as well as an incentive to harness innovation within the entire Paragon ecosystem.
Tokens are also intended to be available for trading on the exchange.

Commercial Strategy

The white paper presents a number of commercial models relating to the establishment of the verification and quality control system (ParagonChain), investment in co-working spaces (ParagonSpace), the growth of its community (ParagonOnline) and the launch of an accelerator (ParagonAccelerator).
When analyzing the intricacies of just one phase of the business, ParagonChain, (refer to page 10 of the whitepaper), it is a significant goal that they have, effectively aspiring to tackle a complete ecosystem through one technology.

The commercial strategy then evolves into the establishment of co-working offices (real estate and operations) and other online community initiatives seeking to change current marijuana legislation.


Strengths

- The marijuana industry has been growing significantly in the USA as laws continue to relax regarding the private use of the drug in select states.

- Quality control is known to be an issue, particularly regarding the source of the drug/strain. There has been a significant amount of emphasis placed on data management and verification within the marijuana industry.

- The public relations aspect of the ICO has created a large amount market awareness which may lead to a successful sale.

Weaknesses

-The commercial strategy of Paragon is not clear. While they are promoting the initiative based on the blockchain contract (ParagonChain), an extensive portion of the commercial model is unlikely to be blockchain based.

-The problem they are trying to tackle exists, however the execution in bringing a solution to market is not to be understated. The ecosystem Paragon would like to penetrate (in just one of its commercial steps) involves procurement, verification, distribution, management, delivery and payment. Generally speaking, most startups would seek to tackle only one of these problems at a time.

-The launch of ParagonAccelerator and ParagonSpace appears to be initiatives that may actually make the company money, however, these aspects have little to do with blockchain (with the exception of the PGN tokens being used as ‘rewards’ or ‘currency.’) There is a substantial amount of content in the white paper about these two commercial models, and in some instances, quoting the success of WeWork.

- The token allocation needs more explanation. The use of funds to ‘control market price’ seems like it is counterintuitive and not suited for the public market.

- The management team appears to focus on public relations as its priority for raising funding. The CEO, while success in modeling, does not appear to have exited nor made a significant success out of her previous initiative AuBox, with the exception of a few press articles released in Vogue and other magazines.

- There is no detailed use of proceeds listed. While there is some mention as to the stages, there is no specific data as to how the money will be spent.

- There are no concrete deadlines listed in the white paper.

- On a macro note, we see a threat of transactions being placed over the blockchain as currency, particularly when legalization of such drugs has occurred only because governments and regulators seek to benefit from the taxation component.

Conclusion

Paragon appears to be a significant risk to investors that are seeking long term exposure.

We acknowledge that the amount of public relations involved and overall market ‘hype’ will likely get this project funded. The company has gone as far as to hire ‘The Game,’ a renown hip-hop artist to assist in the marketing.
While we are impressed with the team’s ability to promote the token sale, we see a substantial amount of risk associated with investment in the long term.

For the reasons listed below, we hold a negative view:

- The token sale structure is extremely complicated
- A significant amount of funds are used to ‘control the token price’
- There is no detailed ‘use of proceeds’ or budget
- The team have not communicated a clear commercial strategy as there are 5 completely different segments
- We believe the use of blockchain within the ecosystem (in this venture) will be limited
- There is a strong focus on the establishment of Accelerators and Co-working spaces as opposed to the blockchain initiative
- The management team appear to be using the current market liquidity as a method of financing for something other than the actual concept
- It is unknown as to what portion of the funds will be held by management, promoters, etc…

For the reasons listed above, we believe there is a significant risk associated with this token sale. If the same structure and offering were presented by a company that did not put such high profile names to it, we would be on the verge of labeling such a token sale as 0 stars.

In saying this, for those seeking short term speculation of a quick trade, the amount of hype associated with this ICO may provide a quick capital gain in the token price once it hits the exchange.

For those seeking a long term investment, we advise to avoid Paragon.

The preceding report has been produced by Picolo Research, the leading ICO and blockchain research house, in conjunction with Astronaut Capital, an upcoming coin offering focused on investment management.