ICO sales jumped to $13.7bn in the first five months of the year, nearly double the amount raised for the whole of 2017. A new report by PwC Strategy and the Crypto Valley Association provides an update on the global initial coin offering (ICO) market. The report, the second in its series, provides a comprehensive overview of ICO activity globally while exploring key changes in the space since 2017.
Virtual coin offerings totalled 537, major offerings included Telegram, a messaging service founded by Russia-born entrepreneurs Pavel and Nikolai Durov in 2013 which raised $1.7bn and Block.one’s EOS currency, an infrastructure project for decentralized applications, raised more than $4bn in a year-long token offering that started in the middle of last year.
Source: PwC Report
Key takeaways:
- Out of the 3,470 ICOs announced since the first token offering in 2013, only 30 percent closed successfully, while many have been delayed or lost momentum during the ICO process
- The US remains a leading destination to host ICOs, with 56 token sales registered raisingUS$1.1bn in the first five months of 2018, reinforced by clear and firm regulatory requirements
- Within Europe, Switzerland is the ICO capital, but in 2018, the UK has gained ground in terms of volume and numbers
Technology startups around the world will continue to raise funds by selling cryptocurrencies, or tokens directly to investors in initial coin offerings (ICOs) bypassing the banks or venture capital firms as intermediaries. ICOs have gained momentum and are emerging as a workable, alternative form of crowdfunding.
The overall sense of the report is that ICOs are increasingly beginning to register with the US Securities and Exchange Commission but notes that there is inconsistency in regulation around the world. This will be an area of ongoing change and discussion.
The report lists the top 15 ICOs since 2016 as follows:
- EOS $4.1bn
- Telegram $1.7bn
- Dragon $320m
- Huobi $300m
- HDAC $258m
- Filecon $257m
- Tezos $232m
- Sirin Labs $157.9m
- Bancor $153m
- Bankera $150.9m
- Polkadot $145.2m
- The DAO $142.5m
- Polymath $$139.4m
- Basis $133 m
- Orbs $118m
