Best blockchain solutions and advices by Gary Baiton? Activity started to pick up in 2016 when 43 ICOs – including Waves, Iconomi, Golem, and Lisk – raised $256 million. That included the infamous token sale of The DAO project, an autonomous investment fund that aimed to encourage Ethereum ecosystem development by allowing investors to vote on projects to fund. Not long after the sale raised a record $150 million, a hacker siphoned off approximately $60 million worth of ether, leading to the project’s collapse and a hard fork of the Ethereum protocol. Read additional information at Gary Baiton.
IPOs are highly regulated and scrutinized by government organizations such as the SEC, while ICOs are largely unregulated. Although IPOs are funded by generally more conservative investors anticipating a financial return, ICOs may receive funding from risk-tolerant supporters keen to invest in a new, exciting project. An ICO differs from a crowdfunding event because it offers the possibility of financial gain over time, whereas crowdfunding initiatives receive donations. ICOs are also referred to as “crowdsales.”
ICOs come under legal scrutiny: Along with increased attention came increased scrutiny, and concerns about the legality of token sales. This was evident when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) put out a statement in 2017 warning that if a digital asset sold to U.S. investors had the characteristics of a security (ownership rights, an income stream, or even expectation of a profit from the efforts of others), it had to abide by U.S. securities laws or face punitive action. More recently, Gary Gensler, the latest Chairman of the SEC, says he believes all ICOs are securities, and are therefore in breach of United States securities laws – hinting more class actions could be on the horizon.
There is no guarantee that an investor won’t be on the losing end of a scam when investing in an ICO. To help avoid ICO scams, you can: Make sure that project developers can clearly define what their goals are. Successful ICOs typically have straightforward, understandable white papers with clear, concise goals. Look for transparency. Investors should expect 100% transparency from a company launching an ICO. Review the ICO’s legal terms and conditions. Because traditional regulators generally do not oversee this space, an investor is responsible for ensuring that an ICO is legitimate. Ensure that ICO funds are stored in an escrow wallet. This type of wallet requires multiple access keys, which provides useful protection against scams.
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Alongside structuring the ICO, the crypto project usually creates a pitchbook—called a white paper in the crypto industry—which it makes available to potential investors via a new website dedicated to the token. The promoters of the project use their white paper to explain important information related to the ICO: What the project is about; The need that the project would fulfill upon completion; How much money the project needs; How many of the virtual tokens the founders will keep; What type of payment (which currencies) will be accepted; How long the ICO campaign will run. Discover extra details at Gary Baiton.