The exponential growth of the crypto world cannot be stopped. By developing their cryptocurrency, many individuals and businesses are taking a chance in the hopes that it will succeed like Bitcoin & Ethereum. If you’re only now learning about cryptocurrency and have inquiries like “An ICO definition and how does ICO work? “and a tonne more. You may get all the information you need in this article. Hold on tight since you’re about to learn everything you require to manage cryptocurrency investing with assurance.
ICO (initial coin offering) in brief
ICOs are another type of cryptocurrency used by companies to raise money. Investors obtain distinctive cryptocurrency “tokens” through ICO trading platforms in return for their monetary investment in the company. Through the creation & sale of a virtual token, it is a method of crowdsourcing used to finance project development.
This special token works like a unit of currency and grants investors access to particular characteristics of a project that is being operated by the company that issues it. Because they assist in funding open-source software projects that might otherwise be challenging to finance via conventional frameworks, these tokens are distinctive.
What are White Papers? What Purpose Do They Serve?
A “white paper” is typically published by a cryptocurrency startup company when it wishes to raise money through an ICO to give investors key information. This information will include, but not be restricted to: what the project is about; what goals it will seek to achieve upon completion; how much money is required to launch the project; how many digital tokens the issuers will retain for themselves; the accepted forms of payment; how long the ICO campaign will last; and who the team behind the white paper is. Before releasing the coin, the firm offering the ICO creates the white paper. It is essential to ICOs since many potential investors request a draught of the whitepaper before making an investment decision.
Multiple types of Initial Coin Offerings
Below is a list of the two different kinds of initial coin offerings:
Private ICO
Only a select group of investors may take part in private initial coin offerings. Private ICOs often limit participation to approved buyers (financial institutions and high-net-worth people), while a business may choose to impose a minimum investment threshold.
Public ICOs
Initial coin offerings (ICOs) that are open to the public are a type of crowdfunding. Since practically anyone can invest, the public offering has democratized investing. However, compared to public offers, private ICOs are starting to look more appealing because of regulatory worries.
Read also: 7 Most Successful ICOs of All Time
The popularity of ICOs is increasing as a result of the development of cryptocurrencies & blockchain technology. Over $7 billion was raised in 2017 through ICOs. The amount roughly doubled in 2018. A supplier of instant messaging services, Telegram, carried out the largest ICO to date. The UK-registered business raised more than $1.7 billion during a private ICO.
Pros & Cons of Initial Coin Offerings
The creation of cryptocurrency tokens can be facilitated by online platforms, which makes it quite simple for a business to think about starting an ICO. Tokens are created following the conditions of the ICO, received by ICO managers, and then distributed to individual investors by transferring the coins. However, as financial regulators do not oversee ICOs, money misappropriated through fraud or negligence might never be recouped.
Usually, the hope that the tokens would appreciate after the coin launches drive early investors inside an ICO. The possibility for extremely high returns is an ICO’s main perk.
However, there is no assurance that cryptocurrencies or other digital assets will always be lawful. The People’s Bank of China formally outlawed initial coin offerings (ICOs) in 2017, decrying them as detrimental to the country’s economic & financial stability. The Chinese government then outlawed cryptocurrency mining in 2021 and deemed all cryptocurrency transactions to be unlawful.
Workflow of an ICO
A sophisticated procedure that involves a thorough understanding of technology, finance, as well as the law is an initial coin offering. The primary concept behind ICOs is to use the decentralized nature of blockchain technology to raise cash in ways that align the interests of multiple stakeholders. Following is a list of the steps in an ICO:
1. Identification of investment targets
Every ICO begins with the company stating its desire to raise money. The business chooses the recipients of its fundraising effort and develops pertinent information about the business or project for possible investors.
2. Token creation
The production of tokens is the next phase of the initial coin offering. The tokens are essentially digital representations of assets or services on the blockchain. The tokens can be traded and are fungible. Since the tokens are merely alterations of current cryptocurrencies, they shouldn’t be confused with cryptocurrencies. The tokens often do not offer an equity stake in a corporation, unlike stocks. Instead, the majority of the tokens provide their owner’s ownership in a good or service that the business has developed.
These blockchain platforms are used to create the tokens. Because a corporation does not have to write the code from the start as is necessary to create a new coin, the process of creating tokens is rather straightforward. Instead, the production of the tokens is possible with only small code alterations on existing blockchain platforms that power existing cryptocurrencies like Ethereum.
3. Promotion campaign
A corporation typically launches a marketing campaign concurrently to entice potential investors. To reach the broadest investor base, it should be noted that the campaigns are frequently run online. The marketing of ICOs is now prohibited on several sizable online platforms, including Facebook and Google.
4. Initial offering
The tokens are made available to investors after they have been created. There may be numerous rounds to the offering. The company can then utilize the funds raised from the ICO to provide a new good or service, and investors can either anticipate using their token purchases to gain access to these goods and services now, or they can wait for the value of their tokens to increase.
Who Can Launch an ICO?
Anybody can start an ICO. Anyone with access to the necessary technology is free to establish a new coin because there is currently very no regulation of ICOs in the United States. However, this lack of regulation ultimately means that someone could go to any lengths to convince you that their ICO is real so they can steal your money. An ICO is arguably one of the simplest to put up as a fraud out of all the potential fundraising channels.
Buying Into an ICO
Make sure to complete your research if you’re determined to invest in a new ICO that you’ve heard about. Making sure the folks launching a successful ICO are legitimate and responsible is the first step. Next, look at the blockchain and cryptocurrency experience of the project leads. A warning sign would be if it appeared that no one with relevant, easily verifiable experience was involved in the project.
Even though everyone can create & launch an ICO, not everyone should. Therefore, if you’re considering setting up an ICO, consider whether your company would benefit from it.
Some points to consider
In 2019, ICO activity started to decline sharply, in part due to the legal limbo that ICOs exist in. 1 Investor can do their homework and locate ICOs to invest in, but there is no foolproof way to keep up with the most recent initial coin offerings. You can use websites that contrast various ICOs against one another, such as TopICOlist.com.
When investing in an ICO, there is no assurance that the investor won’t become the victim of fraud. You can: help ward off ICO con artists
- Make sure the project developers can articulate their objectives properly. White papers for successful ICOs often have simple, obvious objectives.
- Try to find transparency. Investors have to demand complete transparency from every company that runs an ICO.
- Review the terms and conditions of the ICO. Due to the absence of traditional regulators in this area, it is the investor’s responsibility to confirm the legitimacy of an ICO.
- Make sure ICO money is kept in an escrow wallet. Multiple access keys are required for this form of wallet, which offers effective fraud prevention.
Conclusion
An ICO is akin to a hybrid of an initial public offering and online crowdsourcing, except for cryptocurrencies. At a time determined by the token’s issuer, one can exchange the “X” amount of an existing token for the “Y” amount of a new token (at a predetermined conversion rate).
Read also: How to Promote your ICO Effectively?
Both a security function and a utility function are possible uses for this token. In most cases, a utility token is unregulated and is utilized by startups to raise money for their projects in return for future reference to a service that is still under construction. A security token, on the other hand, is typically handled as a stock, a traded asset with ownership characteristics that are subject to SEC regulation. Since ICOs are a relatively new idea, some people have questions about the true worth of the tokens and how simple it is for the issuer to get wealthy. In the end, only time will tell if this is the future of business financing or just an issuer “get rich quick” gimmick.
