Top blockchain technology news and guides by Gary Baiton
Quality blockchain ICO news and tricks with 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. Find additional info at Gary Baiton.
What Is an ICO Used for? Creating a blockchain and cryptocurrency is a costly endeavor. Developers must pay for legal counsel, programmers, facilities, and other expenses. An ICO is intended to raise funds to pay for the costs incurred during a blockchain or coin’s development. Investing in cryptocurrencies and other Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Because each individual’s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.
Review the project’s white paper and roadmap to see how the intended product or service will work, including when certain features will launch. Check to see if any computer code has been audited by a third party. This will be a good indication that a project is serious about its security. Look for typos on the website – this is usually an early red flag that a website has been made quickly with little thought, and could point to it being a scam. Tokens, especially those that have had successful sales, are usually listed on crypto exchanges. Once listed, new investors who missed out on the token offering have an opportunity to purchase the coins. If a project has marketed itself well, there can be significant demand for its token post-ICO.
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.
There are many blockchain affiliate programs that pay you for referring new users to their platform. Affiliate programs are free to join. once you create an account, you’ll be given a special unique link. You can start sharing the link however you‘d like on social media, websites, blog, and forums. Whenever a person signs up or makes a purchase using your link, you will receive a commission. The biggest advantage is that it’s quick to start and begin earning money. Plus, money would keep coming in days, weeks and months, even years after you put in all that effort. If you already run a blog or website or have a huge following on social media, affiliate programs can be a great way to make some good passive income!
The project releases the white paper as part of its ICO campaign, which it designs to encourage enthusiasts and supporters to buy some of the project’s tokens. Investors can generally use fiat or digital currency to buy the new tokens, and it’s increasingly common for investors to pay using other forms of crypto such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. These newly issued tokens are similar to shares of stock sold to investors during an IPO. What Happens to the Funds? If the money raised in an ICO is less than the minimum amount required by the ICO’s criteria, the funds may be returned to the project’s investors. The ICO would then be deemed unsuccessful. If the funding requirements are met within the specified period, the money raised is spent in pursuit of the project’s goals. Read extra information on Gary Baiton.