The Fund is now live:https://www.havelockinvestments.com/fund.php?symbol=BTMA follow-up on some questions and comments:
The 20BTC difference between raised funds and utilized funds (270-250) mostly go to cover expenses already incurred on behalf of the Fund, and exchange filling & listing fees.
There is no windfall profit here for Ignite Financing.
A break down of usage funds will be included in the Fund's first report, expected to be delivered 30 days after of the close of the listing.From the updated prospectus available at Havelockinvestments.com:
Leases and Revenue from Leasing
Lease terms generally run from 36-60 months, with 36 months being the most common. Leases are structured such that there is a pre-payment of fees by the operator to initiate the contract and manufacturer order, a set number of monthly payments, and a final residual/purchase value of the BitcoinATM, which can be 1) purchased by the operator, 2) re-leased by the operator on new terms, or 3) returned to Ignite Financing and the lease is completed (operator may choose to lease newer equipment). On the event of a returned unit at the end-of-lease, the management company may sell the used unit on the open market or lease to another qualifying operator, for the benefit of the Fund.
For illustrative purposes, and based on expected common lease terms, we can assume an average retail price of $14,500 USD*, 36 month lease, and end-of-lease purchase option is executed by the leasing operator: the Fund realizes gross revenue of ~$25,000 USD over the course of the contracted lease (pre-payment + sum of all monthly payments + end of lease purchase).
* This example does not take into account special manufacturer pricing, additional discounts, incentives, and/or rebates which could increase the per machine gross revenue on behalf of the Fund.
"But, this really expensive!"
Yes and no. These amounts are not grossly out of line with other financing and leasing options for similar equipment. The leases do run a little higher at this time due to various reasons (new industry, lack of traditional financing options, etc).
As discussed previously, there are various reasons why an operator chooses to lease (payments via cash-flow, tax benefits (OPEX vs. CAPEX), alternative usage of capitalization, upgrade options, and so on). The operator determines the best usage of their capitalization, and leasing is a viable and competitive method. The lease is, maybe surprisingly, one of the less expensive line items of an operator's on-going budget, especially when you are operating multiple machines across a larger geographical region (such as 5 BitcoinATMs, one in each of the top 5 population centers of, say, Germany, and especially for multi-national operators).
In talking to operators, what draws them to this method is the ability to deploy 3-4x times as many BitcoinATMs as they would have if they opted to purchase. This allows them to access economies of scale when running their business, such as negotiating contracts with cash handling services, marketing, licensing, liquidity/exchange platforms, location rent, and more.
I can't explain how excited Mike and I are to be working to maximize the Fund's profit, and in the process increase the number of physical access points to Bitcoin globally. We truly believe BitcoinATMs are the fastest and easiest way to access Bitcoin (no waiting for bank transfers to clear), enabling more people to enter into the Bitcoin ecosystem, increasing the overall value of the network for all of us.
Any more questions or comments, please, post them and we will continue to answer as best we can.