Thanks for pointing this out. From direct text from our FAQ:
"Why were Stacks Tokens valued/sold at $0.00012 prior to the 2017 accredited sale at $0.12?
Founders and early employees of Blockstack PBC received tokens at $0.00012 per token in October 2017 based on an independent valuation from Foresight Valuation Group, LLC when the Stacks Token was still in its earliest stage of development and before the publication of the token white paper at the end of that month. This grant was subject to a three-year time lock commencing upon the introduction of the genesis block to the Blockstack network in November 2018, and the nominal price reflected the early, high-risk support of founders and early employees.
Holders of Blockstack's Series A convertible preferred stock who had invested a total of $5.1 million as of late 2016 and funded Blockstack's early growth and development before the decision to create a token, or the drafting or publication of any white papers—were also provided an opportunity to purchase tokens at the $0.00012 per token price. This opportunity to participate at a nominal price was given in return for their early support and in proportion to their equity ownership, and it was based on their reasonable expectation as early investors that they would receive tokens if Blockstack ever decided to create a digital token. These tokens are subject to a three-year time lock, commencing upon the introduction of the genesis block to the Blockstack network in November 2018."
Now more context here:
I purchased my shares in Blockstack PBC in 2013 for $42, as does any other startup founder. Will I get a 23809x return if I sell my shares for 1,000,000? No, I'm earning these by the 5+ years of work and no reasonable person would assume that it's a 23809x return. The grant is "free" or at "$0" and the $42 number (standard practice in startups) is there for a tax cost basis.
Exact same logic applies to founder/employee token grants, as we structured our token grants after equity grants.
We did not sell "discounted tokens" at $0.12. That was the price the market was able to bear in Fall 2017. If you consider that a "Series A" price. A 2.5x multiple for a "Series B" is, again, totally standard and rather at the low end for traditional startups. Same thing applies here.
Finally, we are disclosing all this information so investors can make informed decisions. Not the standard practice in other token offerings. I believe disclosures and transparency is a good thing and that's why we took this approach and worked with regulators.
My one request would be to view this from a "what would it look like in a traditional startup?" angle vs. a "how is this project trying to scam me with a pyramid scheme?" angle. Thank you!