What Is an IPO? A Look at Traditional vs. Qubic’s Smart Contract IPOs

For centuries, IPOs were a gatekept event - exclusive to investment banks, corporate insiders, and those with the right connections. The Dutch East India Company kicked it off in 1602, selling shares to the public to fund its global trade empire.

This was new. Revolutionary. Suddenly, anyone (with enough money) could own a slice of a business, and companies could raise unprecedented amounts of capital. This model spread. It fueled the rise of the stock market, built corporate empires, and became the default way for companies to grow.

And yet - despite centuries of technological progress - the mechanism hasn’t changed. A private club decides who gets access. A small group of institutions dictates the price. The public enters last, often paying whatever the market decides.

But then, there’s Qubic.

A system where IPOs aren’t orchestrated by suits in boardrooms. A system where ownership is distributed through smart contracts, not underwriters. A system where anyone with QUBIC can participate, without permission, without barriers.

A fundamentally different way to go public.

IPOs: What They Are & Why They Matter

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is when a private company decides it’s time for the big leagues - time to sell shares to the public for the first time. Traditionally, this means investment banks, regulatory filings, institutional buyers scooping up stock before the general public even gets a chance.

But why do companies do it?

• Money. Expanding, hiring, acquiring, surviving. Going public means access to far more capital than private investors alone can provide.

• Liquidity. Private equity investors, founders, early employees - they want a way to cash out. An IPO lets them sell shares in an open market.

• Credibility. Being publicly traded forces transparency. Share prices fluctuate. Financials get reported. It’s a different game.

Some of the biggest companies in history got their start through an IPO:

• Ford Motor Company (1956) – Raised capital to dominate the auto industry.

• Amazon (1997) – Used IPO funds to scale beyond books, building an e-commerce empire.

• Facebook (2012) – One of the largest tech IPOs ever, cementing its global reach.

IPOs bring money, visibility, and public ownership - but not everyone gets a fair shot.

Unless you change the system.

How Qubic Rewrites IPOs

Traditional IPOs? A maze of paperwork, regulations, and institutional control. Qubic? An open-source, smart contract-driven auction, where shares aren’t priced in backroom deals but in real-time market demand.

A Dutch auction. Shares start at a high price and gradually drop until buyers step in. The final price? The lowest bid that still gets shares.

1. A project launches an IPO contract on Qubic.

2. Investors place bids directly through the Qubic web wallet.

3. The smart contract automatically sorts bids, distributes shares, and sets the final price.

No middlemen. No preferred access. Just a trustless, transparent system where price is dictated by demand, not corporate influence.

Qubic IPOs are an entirely different way to distribute ownership.

Past Qubic IPOs: Funding a Decentralised Ecosystem

Qubic IPOs help shape the network itself. Each IPO is for on-chain infrastructure, with revenues distributed to shareholders.

Look at what’s been built:

• Qx IPO (Aug 30, 2023) – Raised 10.14T QUBIC, burning 15.6% of total supply.

• QTRY IPO (July 19, 2023) – Burned 435.2B QUBIC, funding decentralised finance tools.

• RANDOM IPO (Dec 20, 2023) – Built randomness infrastructure,  burning 1T QUBIC.

Each IPO is about fueling development, creating use cases, and removing supply from circulation - a scarcity mechanism.

And now? The next Qubic IPO is about to drop.

QubicBay: The Next Major IPO

NFTs have taken over blockchain ecosystems. Art, collectibles, tokenized assets - millions trade hands every day on platforms like OpenSea and Blur. But Qubic? No NFT marketplace existed.

Until now.

"Every respectable blockchain that is considered such can’t ignore having NFTs. NFTs have the ability to attract that segment of more casual users, i.e., that user necessary to become mainstream." – QubicBay Proposal

QubicBay (LINK TO PART 1) is the first NFT marketplace built on Qubic. A place to mint, trade, auction, and collect NFTs - all on-chain, all permissionless.

And like every major project in Qubic? Ownership will be decentralised.

"We will increase the revenue for shareholders from 0.5% to 1% and therefore the total fees will become 3% in total (2% for the Marketplace + 1% for shareholders)." – Pepito

Every secondary sale? A cut goes to shareholders. More activity means more revenue for those who hold QubicBay shares.

It’s a marketplace owned by its users, powered by its users, and rewarding its users.

Final Thoughts: A System Redefined

For centuries, IPOs were exclusive, controlled, inaccessible. A private club for the privileged. With the public being able to buy shares at a pre-determined price.

Then came crypto. Decentralisation. Token offerings. Crowdsourced fundraising. But even in crypto, many projects still rely on centralised exchanges, VCs, and institutional investors to set the terms.

Qubic doesn’t.

Every IPO on Qubic is:

• Decentralised – No banks. No regulators. Just smart contracts.

• Open to anyone – No minimum investment. No privileged access.

• Market-driven – Prices set by real buyers, not corporate gatekeepers.

And QubicBay’s IPO is next.

The only chance to get shares before they hit the secondary market. The only chance to enter before prices are dictated by traders. The only chance to be part of Qubic’s next major expansion.

Will you be in? Find out how to take part in the QubicBay IPO here.

Got further questions about traditional IPOs vs Qubic IPOs? Go to the Qubic Discord and Telegram and join the discussion.