Taking the Risk: ICOs

For those of you who are just peering down into the rabbit hole that is crypto currency. You may have noticed the phrase ICO.

It stands for initial coin offering, and it’s similar to the initial price offerings of small companies who want capital in order to expand.

ICOs are put in place by crypto startups that are ready to receive funding so they can continue developing their ideas.
Initial coin offerings can seem very promising to new investors, the thought of getting in on the bottom level of a start up and having a pocket full of new coins teeming with potential would be enough to get anyone excited right?

Eh, speak to a few seasoned investors and you’ll soon realize that many of these ICOs are either out right scams or altogether bad ideas run by an inexperienced team.

I mean let’s face it, this whole crypto thing is still less than 10 years old, no one has that much experience, let’s be honest, they’re probably all still experimenting at this point.

That being said, it’s still possible to find the needle of success in that haystack of risk. And once you’ve found it, boy won’t you be happy

My first and so far only experience with investing in an ICO was when I decided to go for it and invest some of my beloved crypto into this thing called the Dao. I remember the rising excitement as the total amount raised kept increasing by the millions and the potential, oh all of that potential. It was a great idea, the dao, but they had bit off more than they could chew in my opinion. you know, that whole, hindsight being 20/20 thing.

Here are some basic questions you should consider if you’re deciding to invest in an ICO:

• Why does an investor desire acquiring and holding this token?
• What incentive is there for transacting with this token?
• How and where will it be traded?

Additionally, I strongly suggest doing a lot of research on the team behind the project.

If they were previously involved with scams or misleading investors, consider yourself warned.

Secondly, seriously consider if they are presenting a solution to a problem that the blockchain is uniquely able to address.

• Is this something that many people will want/need?
• Will it be essential to everyday life for people or businesses?
• What will make this coin valuable?

Do your research until you feel comfortable investing your money, and if all else fails, you can always use the old, wait and see method. If all else fails, at the very least you will be totally in-the-know about all of the new upcoming coins on the market.

If you go to smithandcrown.com you’ll notice that they will also include warnings if an ICO is a potential scam.

Here is a link to a website that shows you the countdown for all current ICOs.