Crypto Startup Taps Larry King in Shared Effort to Combat Climate Change

In a message on GEAR Token’s website, iconic political talk show host Larry King says that global climate change is threatening humanity’s existence and is “a potentially catastrophic issue from the combustion of fossil fuels … putting immense pressure on the environment and on our health.”

King says that “this is simply not sustainable” and “the pace of innovations and investment in green energy and renewables is not enough to help counteract the use of dirty fuels.”

King is focusing his energies as a member of GEAR’s Advisory Board, helping the small startup, still in incubation, to raise funds for the development of green mining technology to reduce energy consumption in bitcoin mining that has given bitcoin a bad rap with environmentalists.

Aware that the U.S. government is also getting a bad rap from environmentalists, GEAR is hoping to counter any doubts that global climate change is a serious issue.

The GEAR team told Bitcoin Magazine:

“We want to highlight the increasing importance of investing in green projects and startups, given the changing political landscape against efforts to prevent further global warming, such as the U.S. pulling out of the Paris climate accords.”

Indi Pathak, president of GEAR, explained:

“Our mission is to use blockchain and crypto to help and give back to the Earth through things such as building more and more tangible, real-world assets, such as hydroelectric farms, solar farms, etc. every year with GEAR GROW, while also using GEAR CAPITAL to fund and support startups working on the next big technological innovations in green energy and renewables.”

Larry King calls GEAR “the world’s first closed-loop green energy and renewables-focused token investment network helping to promote environmental sustainability.”

Linking Traditional Investment Strategies With ICOs and Tokens

GEAR hopes to be a bridge for traditional investors between traditional investment tools and the new world of ICOs and tokens.

Pathak explains:

“We want GEAR to be a way to connect and introduce standard fiat investors to crypto in a way they already understand and trust.”

“Using the team’s background in traditional finance, we’re aiming to bridge the gap between standard capital markets and current crypto investors to create an investment opportunity that is attractive to both.”

“This involves being compliant with markets through things like SEC filings, and making crypto more digestible and accessible to traditional investors through things they’re more comfortable with, like traditional PPMs and memorandums.”

Crypto Energy Use Is Growing

As discussed at a recent mining conference, the pressure on cryptocurrencies is growing as the sheer volume of energy that must be used to solve increasingly difficult equations increases.

GEAR says that the total energy consumed by the BTC network in one year could power 6,585,585 homes for that same year. One bitcoin transaction uses enough energy to power 34 homes per day.

Bitcoin mining uses the same amount of electricity as the countries of Chile and Austria and more than Switzerland, Columbia and Iceland according to a graph on GEAR’s website.

Changing ICO Regulatory Landscape

Despite current regulatory uncertainty, GEAR Token is working closely with U.S. and Canadian regulators to “be as compliant as possible, while also trying to strengthen more regulation in the space by sharing our own insights with regulators,” said Pathak.

GEAR Blockchain Inc. has filed a Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of GEAR tokens both inside and outside the U.S. under the Securities Act of 1933, and within Canada as a supplementary offering with the Ontario Securities Commission.

GEAR wants a more certain regulatory environment to give stability to ICOs, said Pathak.

Our view is that more regulation is needed in the space to nurture an environment for legitimate offerings and bring more trust into the space.

GEAR’s Roadshow Heads to Toronto

The GEAR team recently returned from a roadshow across Asia, after meeting with some of the largest suppliers of mining equipment.

Their next stop includes a token sale launch at the Blockchain Futurist Conference in Toronto, Canada, where King will be moderating a panel on Wednesday, August 15 entitled “Mass Influence and Adoption of Blockchain Technology,” featuring Charles Hoskinson (CEO, IOHK), Justin Wu (advisor, GEAR Blockchain), Al Burgio (Founder, DigitalBits.io), and Michael Moyal (Co-founder, Slate).

Pathak told Bitcoin Magazine:

“With Larry’s global recognizability spanning generations, he’s really helping us to make blockchain and crypto more accessible and approachable to those who are still unsure of and new to the space. Larry has also interviewed everyone from presidents to business leaders to key influencers, so has the ability to open up a lot of doors to spread the message of GEAR and our positive social impact.”

GEAR is being incubated by Canadian merchant banking group Forbes & Manhattan, founded by Stan Bharti who also serves as one of GEAR’s advisors and is also a speaker at the upcoming Futurist conference.

“Our launch and goal at Futurist is to raise awareness for both the need for a change in current mining methods,” said Pathak, “and the importance of creating an environment that helps to incubate greener blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies.”