WHY ARE ICOS HOT TOPIC IN 2017 ?

ICO DEFINITION
ICO `s popularity has skyrocketed in 2017 because it is an efficient way of
kickstarting projects,based on Blockchain, provided that the end product
is in demand and there’s a solid team working on it.
ICO?
ICO?
ICO? ICO?

First platform shift in many years:

The blockchain, the underlying technology that enables ICOs
and cryptocurrency transactions, is proving to be one of the
Coin Offering is a relatively new mechanism, typical most disruptive innovations, fundamentally changing the
for blockchain companies, enabling this new type of finance industry as we know it.
business units to boost their activity.
The big companies are not setting the rules here:
ICOs help fund start ups and not firmly established companies which is a long needed breath of fresh
Currently, there is no unified, commonly accepted
air for different industries
legal definition for the ICO process. The participants
in such projects refer to the distribution of "tokens" Democratization of financing:
in various ways. In order to participate in an ICO, one does not have to be a seasoned veteran in the investment world.
That allows any individual to invest in a startup, running an ICO, unlike the traditional startup world
where venture capital firms took the majority of investing opportunities due to bigger access to
information and resources.

HOW DOES ONE LAUNCH

AN ICO CAMPAIGN?
ICO campaigns are conducted online and there are no
regulatory requirements what teams must provide.
Usually they have a website clarifying the ICO stages, white
paper, the team behind the project, multiple social media
accounts, and several active online forums.
There is no unanimous approach to pricing tokens, and almost
all projects have bonuses for early participants. Funds are
usually collected into a multi-signature wallet or to a
www.oneacademy.eu cryptocurrency exchange account.
 RISKS AND BENEFITS OF AN ICO
ICOs are a new funding opportunity with little to no regulations in most countries which creates the perfect BENEFITS
environment to take advantage of the benefits, provided by this rapidly-developing global phenomenon. This
means that any company can launch an ICO with very little preparation but a strong drive and a clear vision.
Respectively, any person can take part in an ICO and invest their money into a project. However, with great You are helping the company to raise capital, expand its operations
opportunities, the risks are inevitable as well. Below you can find some further thoughts on the risks and and launch its product or service.
benefits of participating in an ICO.
There is potential in generating high returns after the project is
initiated - the crypto-tokens released during an ICO most often are sold at a
fixed price denominated in Bitcoins or US dollars. Initially, that price depends

RISKS solely on the early investors` belief in the team behind the project and their
ability to release a successful finished product in the near future which will be
in high demand. After the launch of the project is complete, the tokens’ value
Profits are not guaranteed. becomes backed up by a functioning product and in this stage, the original
All ICO participants have to take into account this investors will have the opportunity to sell their tokens for an increased price
risk when they decide to contribute to campaigns and therefore make a profit
they believe in.
ICOs can help start ups to raise funds quickly and effectively instead
There are little to no regulations imposed by of waiting for years
the government, depending on the country.
However, it is getting more and more popular for What else are ICO crypto tokens good for?
companies that have recently launched their ICO It depends on the scope of the particular project. Sometimes, they may have
campaigns, to impose restrictions on themselves some additional features - can be used for cloud storage space, for maintaining
to provide some peace of mind and transparency and developing apps in a certain platform. The possibilities are endless!
for the contributors. Furthermore, there are
regulatory developments on ICOs in some
countries because governments are starting to
The ICO of Ethereum in 2014 is a great example for
EXAMPLE
realize that this means of supporting certain
projects is not just a trend and is here to stay. conducting a successful campaign. The tokens were sold
at a price ranging from $0.3 to $0.4 per token and after the
NS project’s main platform went live in July 2015, the price rose
LATIO
REGU as high as $19.42 per token at one point with total market
capitalization of over $1 billion – something unachievable for
newly established companies before ICOs.
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN IPOS, CROWDFUNDING AND ICOS

SIMILARITIES
ICOs are a good alternative to IPOs* for start IPOs Vs ICOs
CROWD-
FUNDING
Vs ICOs
up companies willing to raise funds

The token can represent a stake in the project

in some instances

DIFFERENCES
SIMILARITIES
A company’s shares, released during an IPO, always result to a share of ownership in the Just like with Kickstarter, the key goal for every ICO
respective company. This is not always the case with crypto-tokens that are offered to the participant is to help fund a project that they
investors in ICOs. personally believe in.
Their value is dependent on the project itself and can take many forms.
Marketing campaigns - online and via social media.
IPOs are heavily regulated by the government whereas initial coin offerings with some small
exceptions are still largely unregulated. This liberal environment, naturally, saves valuable time and Key requirements are similar - business plan and a team.
resources but carries some risks as we noted above

Audited business plan in IPOs vs white paper in ICOs - the white paper has no universal structure
and presents the concept of the project as well as the team behind it.
DIFFERENCES
Contrary to ICOs, not everyone is allowed to participate in an IPO. Only a certain number of
Market value is clearer with Crowdfunding - when a product is
investors that can prove to have a sufficient amount of annual income and cover a myriad of other
launched on crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter,
requirements are qualified to take part in most IPOs.
investors and buyers can compare the products to similar ones
in the market and get an idea of the real value. When it
Companies that go public give a significant edge to a selected group of investors during the
comes to ICOs, it is still not as easy to predict the outcome,
pre-IPO stage. They benefit the most from their investments whereas in ICOs everyone has equal
especially if the project is just being launched. ICOs in many cases
access and equal opportunities.
are prone to substantial under- or over- valuation of assets.

* An initial public offering, or IPO, is the first sale of stock that a company makes to the public.
An IPO is then the process by which a private company becomes publicly traded on a stock exchange
 WHERE TO FIND
UPCOMING ICOS? SUCCESSFUL ICO S
Startups that raised money through ICOs have
accumulated a record $2.2 billion this year
alone, according to Coinschedule.com.
There are different platforms out there dedicated to making the (the estimations are until August, 2017)
process of keeping track of an ICO campaign as easy as possible.

Some blockchain projects have been informing people and Ethereum

launching their ICOs on their own websites. This is not the most Its ICO raised $18 million in Bitcoins or $0.40 per Ether.
efficient approach because it provides limited reach for the campaign and
attracts only certain supporters who are already aware of the respective
project
Stratis Platform
Has the highest ROI (+110912.14%) since its launch. The ICO was priced at 0.007
In consequence, people have started creating platforms, which
USD and they raised $610,908. They sold 84,000,000 tokens in their ICO.
accumulate ICO campaigns of different startups. Here are some of
them: https://www.coinschedule.com/, Waves Platform, ICO
Bazaar and ICO Calendar, ICONOMI, State of the Dapps Golem Project
(Ethereum-based) among others The ICO was launched at $0.01 and raised $8,596,000 selling 820,000,000
tokens within a few minutes.

Storj
Raised $461,802 in their first round at the price of $0.01 per token selling
51,173,14 tokens.

Iconomi
Raised US $10.5 m.

Learn more about ICO:

http://www.lockelord.com/newsandevents/publications/2017/07/sec-digital-coin https://blockgeeks.com/blockchain-crowdfunding/
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@miserableoracle/what-is-ico-a-simple-guide-to-understand-the-crowdfunding-for-a-better-connected-decentralized-future https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-an-initial-coin-offering/
https://www.facebook.com/techinasia/photos/a.242673982437689.55836.175755689129519/1548644721840602/?type=3&theater https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/20/initial-coin-offerings-rafael-corrales-crv-why-icos-are-hot.html
https://blockgeeks.com/guides/ico-basics/