By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Online employment company Job.com plans to raise between $30 million and $50 million in a token offering this spring to finance a new blockchain-based platform, the company's co-founder Arran Stewart told Reuters.
The new platform will be launched after the token offering, Stewart told Reuters in a recent interview.
Stewart said the 20 percent fee typically charged for a recruitment process will be cut to 6 percent on the new platform. This will be paid by the hirer for employing the candidate, and 80 percent of that 6 percent fee will be paid to the successful hire as a signing bonus.
The signing bonus will be paid in the company's token called JOB, Stewart said.
"Because blockhain is peer to peer, it means we don't need the middleman, or headhunter anymore. At the same time, you incentivize the candidate," Stewart said.
Job.com, which has 60 million registered users worldwide, will focus at first on jobs for the global tech industry.
It joins the many start-ups that are creating tokens or digital currencies and selling to investors as a way to raise funds.
Like bitcoin, the best-known crypto-currency, the coins use encryption and a blockchain transaction database enabling fast and anonymous transfer of funds without centralized payment systems.
With a blockchain-based platform, Job.com said candidates will have privacy and control over their data and personal information.
Once the new platform launches, companies will be able to use Job.com for free, including job advertising and jobs matching.
U.S. blockchain company Bloq, which is also launching a token sale, and New York-based Strategic Coin, are two of the advisers on the Job.com's project.