With a bear market and a change in sentiment around ICOs, the risk of using such a fundraising mechanism now constitutes a cheaper, more reliable way of hosting a crowdsale. A staggering collapse this year in ICO funding – from $2.5 billion in February to $181 million by September – means that it has become vital for startups to actively reduce their risk and costs.[1]
This means trimming the fat where possible. An equitable way of achieving this is through one of the emerging ICO platforms wherein a token sale can be launched inexpensively in a matter of days.
While still a valuable way to raise funds, and potentially a lot if the project gains traction, it no longer reliably attracts the level of funding needed to justify a bespoke platform built from scratch. Essentially, startups can no longer throw money at contractors to build their ICO platform; they must explore cheaper options to help balance the books.
Moving Forward with Changing Times
The dizzy heights of what in retrospect looks like a crypto bubble, with Bitcoin grabbing international headlines for stopping just short of $20,000, appear to have gone. No commentator can say with complete confidence where the ceiling is, but this much is clear: speculation and fervor in cryptocurrency markets have seen a dramatic slowdown in recent times.
Startups need to be asking retail investors for their pocket change and not promising get-rich-quick schemes with x1000 growth, which Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin aptly suggests is now highly unlikely at best.[2]
“The next step will be getting people who are already interested in cryptocurrencies to be involved in a more in-depth way,” Buterin said. “Go from just people being interested to real
