Proxima Media, a firm founded by film producer Ryan Kavanaugh, has raised $100 million for a token that allows investment in media content.
The new token, called Proxicoin, received the notable backing from VC firms Step Ventures and the Central Wealth Investment Fund of Hong Kong, Proxima announced Thursday.
Proxicoin is built on the ethereum blockchain and allows fractional ownership of film, television, music and other IP-driven content even for small investors, according to the firm.
The “fully audited” token is expected to be listed and traded on Asian cryptocurrency exchange Fusang through a deal that’s already been inked, Proxima said.
Proxima is also planning to create a stock exchange-like trading platform called Entertainment Stock X (ESX) in a bid to help individual film and television projects raise funds via initial public offerings.
Proxima said it’s been working on building ESX for about two years and expects a full launch by the end of this year.
Proxicoin token holders will also be partial owners of ESX, the firm indicated.
“ESX currently has deals for listings on over 30 major feature film projects and is expected to have a significant share of the 600 major films and television shows shot annually,” it said.
Step Ventures CEO, Vincent Tse, said:
“Film, as an asset class, is traditionally uncorrelated to capital markets and has been a competitive and sought-after asset class among the large hedge funds and banks including Citibank, Duetsche Bank, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and many others. During the Great Depression one of the only stocks that went up was MGM [Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios].”
Kavanaugh and his team have produced over 200 films to date, with box office takings of $17 billion, according to the firm’s own figures. Notable titles include “Fast and the Furious,” “Mamma Mia!” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Salt” and the Oscar-nominated “The Social Network.”
Ryan Kavanaugh image via Shutterstock