The journey of the earliest initial coin offerings (ICOs) have been well-documented. The ICO has become a massively popular method for startups and companies to raise millions within hours. Often, well marketed ICOs turn out to be successful, even without a working product or comprehensive business plan. They just seemed to work.
However, it seems as though a gradual decline can be foreseen for the ICO. As more regulations try to restrict ICOs, structure is starting to crumble. The death of the ICO seems almost impossible to believe, as it has hardly been active for more than a year. If this statement seems impossible to believe, take Ethereum as an example. Ethereum, the technology on which the majority of ICOs are based, was only launched in July 2015. It only took two years for that technology to reach the mainstream where everyone from retailers to casinos were regularly implementing the technology.
This is perhaps the burden that follows the blessing when it comes to blockchain technology. Speed is glorified and sought out. Live fast and die young. Use the ICO to raise money within hours in order to get your business started as soon as possible, and then die out. The most admirable aspect of ICOs is the sheer lighting speed at which it works. While ICOs are still statistically going strong, the signs of decline are impossible to ignore. These signs include fraudulent yet successful ICOs, as well as successful ICOs which cause a rift within the company. Financial authorities remain clueless as to how to address the gaping flaws in regulations surrounding ICOs.
The ICO is not yet dead. There are still hundreds of ICOs to invest in, with more popping up every single month for blockchain-based startups. So far, billions of dollars have been raised for businesses across the entire industry. However, it still doesn’t compare to the trillions of dollars that were raked in during the dot-com craze of the early 2000s. While during the dot-com era money did flow into undeserving companies at record speeds, obstacles were still in place. Anyone with a web-based project and moderate computer skills could easily build a website, raise money, and become rich within days. Additionally, someone from the project was also required to regularly meet with lawyers, banks, accountants, and VC funders. It was required to play by the rules. The speed at which money was raised seemed unprecedented, at the time. This era lasted about seven years.
For ICOs, seven years is an eternity. Everything moves incredibly quickly. If your ICO is popular in the morning, it could be dead in the evening.
One of the more recent and most high-profile ICOs is Kik’s Kin. In September, Kik raised close to $100 million during their token sale. However, at the time of the sale, a radical collective mind shift took place among ICO investors. These investors thought that any ICO attempting to raise more than $50 million is unnecessary, and therefore not worth investing in. The change of heart hit Kik hard and all Kik tokens are currently trading at less than half of their initial ICO price. This would've been unimaginable just three months ago when all high-profile tokens were essentially guaranteed to skyrocket in value after purchase.
The token, Hubii, followed a similarly doomed path during its ICO in August. Despite the $2.7 million market cap, and endorsement from Floyd ‘Crypto’ Mayweather himself. The tokens only traded at an average of a few thousand in daily volume, with absolutely zero hype.
This has begged the question: What will be the next big thing after ICOs?
Tech trends can change within hours. Just last week, after the new record high of the Bitcoin price, many sold ICO tokens as they hailed the new golden era on every single available social media channel. Since this, the Bitcoin price has declined again, which has given ICOs a few last flickers of relevance. However, the new successful ICO is likely to come only to those who have a small market cap, a reputable team, a sound whitepaper, a team of advisors, and most importantly, a vague currency of hype.
If an ICO cannot generate enough buzz, they’re as good as dead.
No one can know for sure what is yet to come for the ICO industry and it looks like the age of the ICO boom era is over. It seems likely that ICOs will soon become subjected to more rigorous regulations, which in turn will prevent undeserving companies from raising millions. The market ahead is likely to have more stable and predictable growth, which will be based on a sound foundation of regulation and legislative policies.
If we can take away one lesson from ICOs, it should be that the tech world is evolving at rapid speeds. Whatever follows the ICO craze is likely to blow up and cause hype faster than any previous trend. It is likely that there will be no time for those interested to first study the phenomenon before dipping their toe into the pool. New crazes tend to force you to plunge yourself into unfamiliar waters and figure it out as you go along. Either way, ICOs are still going strong for now so why not check out our ICO list?
However, it seems as though a gradual decline can be foreseen for the ICO. As more regulations try to restrict ICOs, structure is starting to crumble. The death of the ICO seems almost impossible to believe, as it has hardly been active for more than a year. If this statement seems impossible to believe, take Ethereum as an example. Ethereum, the technology on which the majority of ICOs are based, was only launched in July 2015. It only took two years for that technology to reach the mainstream where everyone from retailers to casinos were regularly implementing the technology.
This is perhaps the burden that follows the blessing when it comes to blockchain technology. Speed is glorified and sought out. Live fast and die young. Use the ICO to raise money within hours in order to get your business started as soon as possible, and then die out. The most admirable aspect of ICOs is the sheer lighting speed at which it works. While ICOs are still statistically going strong, the signs of decline are impossible to ignore. These signs include fraudulent yet successful ICOs, as well as successful ICOs which cause a rift within the company. Financial authorities remain clueless as to how to address the gaping flaws in regulations surrounding ICOs.
The ICO is not yet dead. There are still hundreds of ICOs to invest in, with more popping up every single month for blockchain-based startups. So far, billions of dollars have been raised for businesses across the entire industry. However, it still doesn’t compare to the trillions of dollars that were raked in during the dot-com craze of the early 2000s. While during the dot-com era money did flow into undeserving companies at record speeds, obstacles were still in place. Anyone with a web-based project and moderate computer skills could easily build a website, raise money, and become rich within days. Additionally, someone from the project was also required to regularly meet with lawyers, banks, accountants, and VC funders. It was required to play by the rules. The speed at which money was raised seemed unprecedented, at the time. This era lasted about seven years.
For ICOs, seven years is an eternity. Everything moves incredibly quickly. If your ICO is popular in the morning, it could be dead in the evening.
One of the more recent and most high-profile ICOs is Kik’s Kin. In September, Kik raised close to $100 million during their token sale. However, at the time of the sale, a radical collective mind shift took place among ICO investors. These investors thought that any ICO attempting to raise more than $50 million is unnecessary, and therefore not worth investing in. The change of heart hit Kik hard and all Kik tokens are currently trading at less than half of their initial ICO price. This would've been unimaginable just three months ago when all high-profile tokens were essentially guaranteed to skyrocket in value after purchase.
The token, Hubii, followed a similarly doomed path during its ICO in August. Despite the $2.7 million market cap, and endorsement from Floyd ‘Crypto’ Mayweather himself. The tokens only traded at an average of a few thousand in daily volume, with absolutely zero hype.
This has begged the question: What will be the next big thing after ICOs?
Tech trends can change within hours. Just last week, after the new record high of the Bitcoin price, many sold ICO tokens as they hailed the new golden era on every single available social media channel. Since this, the Bitcoin price has declined again, which has given ICOs a few last flickers of relevance. However, the new successful ICO is likely to come only to those who have a small market cap, a reputable team, a sound whitepaper, a team of advisors, and most importantly, a vague currency of hype.
If an ICO cannot generate enough buzz, they’re as good as dead.
No one can know for sure what is yet to come for the ICO industry and it looks like the age of the ICO boom era is over. It seems likely that ICOs will soon become subjected to more rigorous regulations, which in turn will prevent undeserving companies from raising millions. The market ahead is likely to have more stable and predictable growth, which will be based on a sound foundation of regulation and legislative policies.
If we can take away one lesson from ICOs, it should be that the tech world is evolving at rapid speeds. Whatever follows the ICO craze is likely to blow up and cause hype faster than any previous trend. It is likely that there will be no time for those interested to first study the phenomenon before dipping their toe into the pool. New crazes tend to force you to plunge yourself into unfamiliar waters and figure it out as you go along. Either way, ICOs are still going strong for now so why not check out our ICO list?