Quality blockchain tech news and tips and tricks with Gary Baiton? Even if anyone can establish and launch an ICO, that doesn’t mean everyone should. So if you’re thinking about organizing an initial coin offering, ask yourself if your business would substantially benefit from one. ICO activity began to decrease dramatically in 2019, partly because of the legal gray area that ICOs inhabit.1 Investors can research and find ICOs in which to participate, but there is no surefire way to stay abreast of all the latest initial coin offerings. You can use websites like TopICOlist.com and websites that compare different ICOs against one another. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can intervene in an ICO, if necessary. For example, after the creator of Telegram raised $1.7 billion in an ICO in 2018 and 2019, the SEC filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order, alleging illegal activity on the part of the development team. In March 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction. Telegram was ordered to return $1.2 billion to investors and pay a civil penalty of $18.5 million. Read more info on Gary Baiton.

Initial Coin Offering (ICO) vs. Initial Public Offering (IPO): IPOs raise money for companies seeking funds from investors and result in the distribution of shares of the company’s stock to investors. For ICOs, crypto companies raise funds through the sales of coins or tokens. In both cases, investors are bullish about the company or the cryptocurrency and invest based on the belief that the asset’s value will increase over time. The primary difference between an ICO and an IPO is that investing in an ICO doesn’t secure an ownership stake in the crypto project or company. ICO participants are gambling that a currently worthless currency will later increase in value above its original purchase price.

Financial regulators from Australia, the U.K and a long list of other countries also issued warnings to retail investors about the potential hazards of participating in these potentially fraudulent offerings. South Korea and China decidedly imposed complete bans on ICOs around the same time, while Thailand issued a temporary ban on token offerings a year later as regulators drafted up a new legal framework. Despite the widespread regulatory concern regarding ICOs, there is yet no global consensus on passing blanket laws – or amending existing ones – to protect investors from flimsy or fraudulent token sales.

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What Is an Initial Coin Offering (ICO)? An initial coin offering (ICO) is the cryptocurrency industry’s equivalent of an initial public offering (IPO). A company seeking to raise money to create a new coin, app, or service can launch an ICO as a way to raise funds. Interested investors can buy into an initial coin offering to receive a new cryptocurrency token issued by the company. This token may have some utility related to the product or service the company is offering or represent a stake in the company or project. See additional information on Gary Baiton.

While ICOs can offer an easy funding mechanism and an innovative approach for startups to raise money, buyers can also benefit from both access to the service that the token confers as well as a rise in the token’s price if the platform is successful (big IF!) These gains can be realized by selling the tokens on an exchange once they’re listed. Or, buyers can double down on the project by purchasing more tokens once they hit the market.