faq.yml

- title: "General knowledge"
  questions:
  - question : "What is an ICO?"
    answer : "An ICO, short for Initial Coin (or Crowd) Offering, is a fundraising mechanism enabled by a set of technologies under the umbrella term of “blockchain”. These include cryptocurrencies, cryptotokens, distributed ledgers, and of course blockchains themselves. Generally, ICOs are about distributing tokens in exchange for cryptocurrency. This fundraising mechanism was first used by Omni (formerly Mastercoin) on July 31, 2013, with a special “Exodus Address” on the Bitcoin network. Since then, the ICO space has steadily grown, leading to an explosion of projects and companies using it in 2016 and ever since."
  - question : "What is an ICBM? Why did you call your ICO an ICBM?"
    answer : "The Initial Capital Building Mechanism is a process corresponding loosely to the now common ICO process employed by other blockchain projects. In our case, it kickstarts our investment ecosystem by delivering liquidity to the Neufund platform. This corresponds to commitments by participants to make investments in future Equity Token Offerings of companies on the platform. Capital Building is the only purpose; Neufund does not rely on the ICBM to fund operations. We do not even have access to funds committed by ICBM participants. Funds remain under their sole control; perhaps that’s the main difference between a typical ICO and our ICBM. Neufund’s ICBM takes place in Autumn 2017."
  - question : "What is a Commitment Transaction?"
    answer : "Commitment Transaction is the term we use for commitment of funds (Ether or Euro Token) by contributors during the ICBM to the Platform for later investment, which is rewarded by the Neumark, Neufund’s Platform token."
  - question : "What is a Euro Token (EURT)?"
    answer : "The Euro Token (EURT) is an on-chain representation of the fiat currency Euro within the Neufund Platform. Our EURT cannot live, or be used, outside the Platform."
  - question : "I couldn’t find an answer to my question, what now?"
    answer : Send us an e-mail at <a href="mailto:hello@neufund.org">hello@neufund.org</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/slack">join our Slack</a> to get direct responses to your questions.
  - question : "What is the necessity of EUROT? Why don't you use only ETH?"
    answer: Euro token is created and destroyed against a deposit on bank account - whenever there is a wire in or out. It is internal pegged currency of the platform. Very simple and safe solution. It is used as a reference point for valuation of companies doing ETO on the platform. ETH is too volatile for that purpose. Explained with diagrams in chapter 7 of whitepaper. It is also used to on-board people on Ethereum blockchain without requirement to buy ETH.

- title: "Basic questions"
  questions:
  - question: What is NEUFUND?
    answer: NEUFUND is a community-owned fundraising platform. Companies can use our legal and technical infrastructure to legally issue (on our platform) a new type of asset, which we call tokenized equity, and into which virtually anyone can invest. The Neufund platform thus acts as a bridge between the mainstream investment world and the blockchain space.
  - question: When is the NEUFUND ICBM going to take place?
    answer: The Neufund ICBM is going to take place this autumn 2017. Further information will be published very soon on <a target="_blank" href="https://commit.neufund.org">commit.neufund.org</a>
  - question: Why is Neufund not doing a normal ICO?
    answer: "Thanks to our investors we are able to build Neufund without having to raise large amounts of funds from the public. Also, because Neufund is a two-sided marketplace for legally valid investments, we face a different set of challenges than the average blockchain platform does: we want investors and companies to join and perform transactions. We bootstrap this process by incentivizing early adopters with a particularly advantageous Neumark reward for committing their funds to the platform early. Once the Neufund platform is live, we take fees for successful investments, which suffices for covering the expenses of running the platform. As a consequence, a regular ICO is unnecessary – and even counterproductive – both for funding our operations and bootstrapping our platform."
  - question: Where can I read the Neufund whitepaper in full?
    answer: Go to <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/whitepaper">neufund.org/whitepaper</a> to read the latest version of the Neufund whitepaper.
  - question: Is Neufund funded? Do you have backing?
    answer: |
      <p>Neufund received $ 2m in investment at the close of 2016. We are backed by several prominent investors and VC firms in Germany and abroad, such as Klaas Kersting and Christophe Maire’s Atlantic Labs.</p>
      <p>Read <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/17/neufund/">the TechCrunch article</a> for more information.</p>
  - question: Is this project open-sourced?
    answer: |
      Our smart contract code is publicly available in our <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/Neufund">GitHub</a>. In addition, we have open sourced several of our projects and initiatives, such as the <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/esop">“ESOP: Options On-Chain”</a> project as well as our <a target="_blank" href="https://icomonitor.io">ICO Monitor</a>.
  - question: Will you do due diligence of companies doing ETOs on the platform?
    answer: |
      We will provide basic due diligence of all companies doing ETO. Of course we will provide a more in depth DD for the first batch of ETOs, but due to scalibility issues and the focus of the platform (providing a legal and technical framework for ETOs) we wont be able to do an extensive DD on every ETO on the platform, this stay on investors-side. However we will provide a formal check and introduce experts helping the community to evaluate ETOs.
  - question: When investors commit funds to the platform and participate in a ICBM, they automatically receive Neumarks tokens proportionately. In this process why does the platform operator collect 50% of the fees?
    answer: |
      Contrary to other ICOs, we are not getting a single dime from our ICBM. All funds stay with investors. Also contrary to other ICOs we have no pre-allocated tokens, we get our share only when investors invest. We have no other revenue stream of funding just the fees. In that sense platform operator is perfectly aligned with investors - makes money only when there are good deals on the platform. NEU issuance scheme does not stop after ICBM. ICBM is just a part of capital building mechanism. Rest of NEU will be created during actual investments on the platform.
  - question: Why do you put a “long-stop date” which coercively locks up investors fund for 18 months? Why can’t investors pull out their money whenever they want and rather go through ‘escape hatch’ and pay a penalty fine?
    answer: |
      We believe it's a fair deal. Investors promise us to fund future companies on the platform, we give them  NEU in advance. No one is coercing anyone to do it. You can choose to wait till spring 2018 when platform is up and running and then invest directly in ETOs. You will still receive NEU but less than investors that took more risk and commitmed in ICBM. You can always withdraw your money earlier. Then you have to pay 10% fee which is going to other investors who are still on the platform.
  - question: What’s the purpose of issuing digitalized tokens which represent a share of the company when people can just buy stocks on the stock market. It just seems that companies that cannot pass the IPO due diligence are finding a quick way to raise capital evading all the securities laws that are implemented to protect investors.
    answer: |
      First of all we aim at private equity. You cannot buy it on stock market. Secondly we are not evading any regulations, we are working with regulators in Germany and EU for a year already to provide regulatory framework for tokens. Equity Tokens will be issued with full compliance with securities and other laws of Germany. We are not evading any laws. The whole idea of Neufund is to civilize ICOs and make them legally compliant.
  - question: Is there any projection of fee costs or dividend earning through ETOs? E.g. how much a normal ETO would have to pay as a fee to the platform?
    answer: |
      There is cash component and equity component in the fee. let's assume that cash component is 3% of ICO volume (and forget the gains from equity component). Then if you invest 1000 ETH you get more or less 942 000 NEU. we should also assume that you hold it for a year and that year volume was 1b then your fees are 942000/1.5bln*1bln*3% = 18840 EUR. actually you will get more because not all NEU were issued at 1bln volume. There is example calculation in 5.5 of whitepaper
  - question: Why there is no vesting scheme on platform operator NEU?
    answer: |
      There is a vesting scheme built in into system. There are no pre-allocated tokens, platform operator starts with 0 tokens. It gets token only when there is succesfull investment so there is vesting: all tokens are actually earned and created on every success. This is different comparing to other projects that just take large amount of tokens at start.
  - question: What stop you from dumping all your tokens on the market?
    answer: |
      Platform operator lives off NEU fees, if it sells it's tokens it is like a car factory selling the factory. If we would do it we would be a dead business. Operator is using it's tokens for the good of all token holders like bounty, possible airdrop to increase liquidity and awarness.
  - question: Are you like kickstarter?
    answer: |
      In kickstarter you basically buy product that do not yet exist, here you are getting a share in business with all legal backing. Also we work with companies at various stages that include seed but also later stage that are interested in liquid tokens. Finally you do not get a share of kickstarter profit when you donate to a project, we are giving a share of the platform to investors in form of NEU tokens.
  - question: When will you announce first ETOs?
    answer: |
      By the end Q1 2018 but we already work with interesting projects.
  - question: Could you present possible use case scenarios of ETH/NEU?
    answer: |
      Here are some basic use cases for platform and NEU token: <br/>
      1. You commit 10 ETH to the platform and receive NEU for that operation. ETH is locked in the smart contract but you still control what you want to do. You wait and look what companies come to the platform. You find some nice company "A" you want to inverst in. You put your 10 ETH on "A's" ETO. You get "A" tokens. At the end you have NEU and "A" tokens.<br/>
      2. You keep your ETH and NEU waiting for some nice ETO. You see that market is going crazy and you need your ETH back. So you take it back and return NEU you got during sale. You have to pay 10% fee from ETH for getting your money earlier than lock perios. This 10% is distributed among investors that are still on the platform. You have 90% of ETH and no NEU.<br/>
      3. You wait for nice ICOs but nothing is going on, so after 18 months you decide that you want 100% of your ETH back. You take it all to your wallet and return all NEU - this is just simpole holding ETH for 18 months.<br/>
      All this time as a NEU holder you get part of the fees from the platform for successfull ETOs - so you also earn on it. Fees are distributed in ETH or EUR.<br/>

- title: "How to participate"
  questions:
  - question: "Where and how will the ICBM take place?"
    answer: |
      The website for the ICBM is <a target="_blank" href="https://commit.neufund.org">commit.neufund.org</a>. It contains all the necessary and relevant information. The ICBM itself will take place over two phases: the ETH phase (30 days) and the EURT phase (duration to be announced). Participants in both phases receive Neumarks as a reward for committing their funds to the platform."
  - question : "What documents should I read before participating?"
    answer : |
      <p>First, we recommend familiarizing yourself with the contents of the whitepaper (read <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.neufund.org/key-takeaways-from-the-new-neufund-whitepaper-56444e408643">key takeaways</a> or the <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/whitepaper">full whitepaper</a>) as well as the <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/roadmap">roadmap</a>.</p>
      <p>You can find an explainer of our product (the Neufund platform) on the <a target="_blank" href="https://commit.neufund.org/product">Product tab</a>.</p>
      <p>If you’d like to learn more about our past achievements, please visit the Neufund <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/ecosystem/">“Ecosystem Impact”</a> page or browse our company blog on <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.neufund.org">Medium</a>.</p>
      <p>We will also require participants to read and accept legal documents that will govern the ICBM. These will be available shortly before the ICBM start.</p>

  - question : "How can I participate in Neufund’s ICBM?"
    answer : |
      Follow the instructions laid out on the <a target="_blank" href="https://commit.neufund.org">Commit Page</a>.
  - question : How can I verify whether I am using the correct website?
    answer : |
      Make sure that the address is <a target="_blank" href="https://commit.neufund.org">commit.neufund.org</a>. Use the bookmarking function of your browser to save the page for easy access on the big day.
  - question : "How do I know whether I am legally allowed to participate?"
    answer : |
      <p>We want the ICBM to be open to everyone. However, due to legal reasons we might be forced to exclude participation of certain persons or entities.</p>
      <p>For example, if you are a US citizen or entity, or a representative of such person or entity, you are not legally allowed to participate.</p>
  - question : "Which wallet providers does Neufund support?"
    answer : |
      <p>We support myetherwallet, Metamask, Parity, and web3 as well as Ledger Nano S hardware wallets. Any ERC20 compatible wallet should work. Please make sure to use a wallet where you are in control of your private key.</p>
      <p>Be aware that wallets on exchanges are NOT supported.</p>
  - question : What ETH address can I use to participate? Can I send my ETH from an exchange account?
    answer : |
      Please only use an address you have exclusive control over and that is provided by one of the supported wallets. DO NOT use an exchange account address.
  - question : Where can I purchase ETH?
    answer : |
      You can purchase ETH at any exchange such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kraken.com/">Kraken</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://bittrex.com/">Bittrex</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://poloniex.com/">Poloniex</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bitstamp.net/">Bitstamp</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coinbase.com/">Coinbase</a>, and a number of others.
  - question : Is there a minimum or maximum amount of funds I can participate with?
    answer : |
      There is a minimum ticket size of 1 ETH and no maximum ticket size.
  - question : How will I know whether my commitment was successful if the Ethereum network is overloaded?
    answer : |
      On the Ethereum network you can be fairly certain that your transaction is executed with just one confirmed block. However, it is customary to say that 12 blocks provides almost 100% guarantee. For funds committed directly from the commitment page we provide a link to <a target="_blank" href="https://etherscan.io/">Etherscan</a> where you can observe the number of confirmations in real time. If you use your own wallet, please refer to its manual for guidance.
  - question : What are the reward ratio and exchange rate mechanisms?
    answer : |
      <p>The Neumark reward starts out at 6.5 Neumark per EURT and declines from there according to the following curve:<img src="/assets/curve.png" alt="curve" width="300"></p>
      <p>However, every Neumark reward is split: 50% goes to the person committing funds, 50% go to the platform operator Fifth Force GmbH. In effect then, the Neumark reward for the first contributor starts out at 3.25 Neumark per EURT.</p>
      <p>During the commitment process you will find a calculator to estimate the reward you are likely to get for your commitment of funds.</p>
  - question : Does Neufund do a pre-ICO?
    answer : |
      Yes. It will be announced on our Slack channel, which you can join <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/slack">here</a>. You can also write to <a href="mailto:hello@neufund.org">hello@neufund.org</a> for details.
  - question : When will tokens be distributed?
    answer : |
      <p>Instantly after the funds are committed. However, investment transactions using the EURT will only become possible at the launch of the Neufund platform.</p>
      <p>NEU will only be immediately tradable after an exchange offers trading, but no earlier than the end of the ICBM. We hope this will be a short timespan, but ultimately depends on the exchanges.</p>
  - question : What types of currencies can I use to participate in Neufund’s ICBM?
    answer : |
      <p>Neufund only accepts ETH, or “Ether” (Ethereum’s native token), and EURT (Euro Token). The first phase is open exclusively for participants who wish to send ETH, and runs for one month. </p>
      <p>Neufund does not accept other currencies, neither crypto-based nor fiat.</p>
  - question : Will there be a lock-up on funds committed in the ICBM?
    answer : |
      Your committed funds are locked for use on the Neufund platform for a duration of 18 months (months of 30 days length) after your original commitment. Once that time period ends, you will be able to withdraw 100% of your committed funds, and at the same time must burn an amount of Neumarks equivalent to the total reward you received. You are also able to withdraw 90% of the EUR value of your funds (at the time of commitment) at any time before that date. The remaining 10% will be distributed among other Neumark holders.
  - question : Where can I get help with committing my funds?
    answer : |
      <a target="_blank" href="https://neufund.org/slack">Join our Slack</a> and talk with our team members, or reach out to us at <a href="mailto:commit@neufund.org">commit@neufund.org</a>.
  - question : How do I connect with Neufund on Social Media?
    answer : |
      You can find us on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/neufundorg/">Facebook</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/neufundorg">Twitter</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/neufund/">Reddit</a>.
  - question : Has the smart contract code been professionally audited for security?
    answer : |
      The smart contract code is currently being audited. The results will be published as soon as they become available.

- title: "Neufund’s token - Neumark"
  questions:
  - question : What are Neumarks?
    answer : |
      Neumarks are Neufund’s protocol tokens which participants earn by committing capital to the platform. They entitle their holders to revenues from platform fees for ETOs (Equity Token Offerings) taking place on Neufund, as well as economic benefit from a platform portfolio pool holding a small amount of every ETO ever conducted. The amount of Neumarks held represents the individual stake in the Neufund ecosystem. In total, they thus represent the value of Neufund’s entire token economy. As an attractive asset, they are apt for secondary trading and can easily be transferred among users.
  - question : What makes Neumarks different from other tokens? What does Neumark offer that others do not?
    answer : |
      Most tokens sold in ICOs today are either utility tokens or simple speculation assets. Neumark is neither. Instead, it entitles its holder to revenues from platform fees for ETOs (Equity Token Offerings) taking place on Neufund, as well as economic benefit from a platform portfolio pool holding a small amount of every ETO ever conducted.
  - question : How do I purchase Neumarks?
    answer : |
      Neumarks are not being purchased in the first place. Contributors receive Neumarks as a reward for contributing to the ecosystem. For every successful investment in a company on our platform one will receive Neumarks until the total supply of € 1.5 b is reached.
  - question : When do I get Neumarks?
    answer : |
      Neumarks are received immediately after funds have been committed in Neufund’s Initial Capital Building Mechanism (→ICBM), or when investing on the NEUFUND platform at a later stage. However, trading is enabled only after the ICBM concludes. Beyond that, you will have to wait for exchanges to start listing NEU in order to trade easily.
  - question : Is Neumark a security?
    answer : |
      No, Neumark is not a security. This conclusion is the outcome of extensive legal analysis of the German law conducted by professional attorneys. Neufund is aware that questions regarding the regulatory status of Neumarks in other jurisdictions will be discussed. Since we cannot exclude different regulatory treatment of Neumarks in all jurisdictions, participants from the US, and potentially also other non-supported countries, will not be able to take part in the ICBM event.
  - question : What rights do Neumark holders have?
    answer : |
      The value of Neumarks results from fees and participation in a platform pool of equity tokens, and thus gives economic ownership of the network to its holders: (1) With each successful Equity Token Offering, a small fee is deducted from the invested amount. This platform fee is then distributed to Neumark holders pro rata. (2) Within the same Equity Token Offering, a small fee in form of company equity tokens is deducted from the total tokens that were acquired. This token participation fee is added to a platform portfolio of all companies ever to conduct a token sale on the platform.
  - question : Is there a hard cap on Neumarks generated during the ICBM?
    answer : |
      We have a technical hardcap at € 200m.
  - question : How many Neumark tokens will be available during the ICBM and how many will be created in total?
    answer : |
      The first € 100m committed (or, more strictly speaking, value of ETH committed in EUR) will be rewarded with 35% of the total supply of Neumarks ever to be generated. Overall, 1,5 bln NEU will be generated.
  - question : Are there any bonuses or discounts available?
    answer : |
      The bonus is implied in the structure of Neumark’s issuance curve. The earlier you reserve your funds, the better your ratio of Neumarks per committed EUR is.
  - question : When will NEU come to market/exchanges? Do you have partnerships with exchanges yet?
    answer : |
      We have ongoing conversations with several exchanges about listing NEU and expect listings to become available in at least one or more exchanges immediately upon the conclusion of the ICBM.
  - question : Why should I hold NEU?
    answer : |
      We are incentivizing users to hold their NEU. As NEU holder you also become co-owner of the platform. This gives you rights to vote, you get % of the fees from the platform. When it develops and more and more ETOs come then you will get revenues from platform operations.

- title: Legal questions
  questions:
  - question : Do contributors need to go through KYC procedures during Neufund’s ICBM?
    answer : |
      We are not planning KYC measures during the ICBM itself. However, if you intend to perform investments on the platform, you will have to undergo a KYC process before being able to carry them out. This only applies to participants committing funds in ETH.
  - question : What is the downside protection?
    answer : |
      <p>For one, we do not have access to your ETH or EURT, since all funds are held in a smart contract. This contract itself is currently being audited for security and allows you to withdraw your funds at any time. If you do so before an 18 month period of 30 day months has passed after your commitment, you will be able to withdraw 90% of the EUR value of your funds (at the time of commitment) at any time before that date. The remaining 10% will be distributed among other Neumark holders.</p>
      <p>In addition, token holder rights are protected by regular legal means with the appropriate legal documentation.</p>
  - question : Who can reserve funds to invest on the NEUFUND platform?
    answer : |
      Virtually anybody can participate in Neufund’s Initial Capital Building Mechanism (→ICBM), given that she is not based in the US or has a US citizenship. Neufund tokens (Neumarks) themselves are not securities, commodities, swaps on either securities or commodities, or similar financial instruments. Nevertheless, it was decided that US citizens, residents and entities should be excluded from reserving funds to invest on the Neufund platform. This is mainly due to the logistical challenges that come with respective regulations. With the platform launch, we will ask you to go through an authorisation process for both your and our safety.
  - question : Is the Neufund ICBM open to US contributors?
    answer : |
      No. US contributors are not allowed to participate.
  - question : Why are you building Neufund under the German law?
    answer : |
      Germany offers a sound legal ground for ambitious projects. We remain open for developments in other jurisdictions that may prove advantageous for Neufund in the future. However, we are already able to do our business globally thanks to our innovative legal structure built under German law.
  - question : What is the Blacklist of countries participating in Neufund’s ICBM?
    answer : |
      All US contributors, whether legal or natural persons or their representatives, are excluded from participation. We cannot exclude that due to a dynamic situation in various jurisdictions we will be forced to exclude persons from other countries.
  - question : How is Neufund affected by the SEC announcement?
    answer : |
      <p>At Neufund we understand that the regulatory environment is dynamic, and that we can’t say how the treatment of tokens will be viewed by various regulatory authorities ahead of time. To be safe, however, we have decided to exclude US contributors until a favourable, firm regulatory framework has been established.</p>
      <p>Currently, we are complying with existing German law and the greater EU framework, as determined by our legal experts.</p>