What is Initial Coin Offering (ICO)?
Let's find out Initial Coin Offering (ICO) meaning, definition in crypto, what is Initial Coin Offering (ICO), and all other detailed facts.
Initial coin offering (ICO) can be used by cryptocurrency or blockchain companies that want to raise funds for their new service, app, or coin. It is commonly regarded as an answer to initial public offerings (IPOs).
An ICO usually starts with a whitepaper outlining the project's goals, the number of tokens that will be mined, and how they will be distributed. If the investors purchase tokens early on in a campaign, they might get reduced prices or receive discounts if cryptocurrencies are used instead of fiat currencies to make a purchase.
Tokens sold through ICO allow the owner to exchange them for access to services or products. In exceptional situations, they might reflect an ownership stake in the start-up that initiated the listing.
However, in recent years, ICOs gained a reputation for being extremely risky investments, and sometimes even were identified as exit scams because ICOs can be easily used by scammers and market manipulators.
The ease with which an ICO can be formed without regulatory control, meaning that they frequently attract inexperienced investors, is one of the most common complaints of ICOs. Because of that, security token offerings (STOs) and initial exchange offerings (IEOs) are better alternatives to ICOs.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken some actions against some projects including ICOs. For instance, Telegram was ordered to repay $1.2 billion to investors as part of a preliminary injunction imposed by the District Court for the Southern District of New York, as well as pay an $18.5 million civil penalty.
A bounty program’s goal is to receive feedback on the project’s code. It’s also used to reward someone’s efforts in promoting the cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, there are bug bounty programs to reward anyone who identifies issues within the project’s blockchain. These incentives can have a huge payoff for the programmers.<\/p>","definition":"is an unconventional approach to project launches where people contribute skills instead of money.","status":"published","meta_title":"What is Initial Bounty Offering (IBO)? Definition & Meaning | Crypto Wiki","meta_description":"Initial Bounty Offering (IBO) meaning: Initial Bounty Offering (IBO) - is an unconventional approach to project launches where people contribute skills instead of money.","meta_keywords":null}" :model="{"id":406,"wikipedia_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Initial_coin_offering","level":"easy","author_id":1,"created_at":"2023-06-19T06:58:59.000000Z","updated_at":"2023-12-13T04:04:04.000000Z","slug":"what-is-initial-coin-offering-ico","title":"What is Initial Coin Offering (ICO)?","section":"I","keyword":"Initial Coin Offering (ICO)","content":"<p><strong>Initial coin offering (ICO)<\/strong> can be used by cryptocurrency or blockchain companies that want to raise funds for their new service, app, or coin. It is commonly regarded as an answer to <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-initial-public-offering-ipo/">initial public offerings (IPOs)<\/strong><\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>An ICO usually starts with a whitepaper<\/strong> outlining the project's goals, the number of tokens that will be mined, and how they will be distributed. If the investors purchase tokens early on in a campaign, they might get reduced prices or receive discounts if cryptocurrencies are used instead of fiat currencies to make a purchase.<\/p>\n<p>Tokens sold through ICO allow the owner to exchange them for access to services or products. In exceptional situations, they might reflect an ownership stake in the start-up that initiated the listing.<\/p>\n<p>However, in recent years, ICOs gained a reputation for being extremely risky investments, and sometimes even were identified as <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-exit-scam/">exit scams<\/strong><\/a> because ICOs can be easily used by scammers and market manipulators. <\/p>\n<p>The ease with which<strong> an ICO can be formed<\/strong> <strong>without regulatory control<\/strong>, meaning that they frequently attract inexperienced investors, is one of the most common complaints of ICOs. Because of that, <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-security-token-offering/">security token offerings (STOs)<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=https://www.bitdegree.org/"//crypto//learn//crypto-terms//what-is-initial-exchange-offering-ieo/">initial exchange offerings (IEOs)<\/strong><\/a> are better alternatives to ICOs.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has taken some actions against some projects including ICOs. For instance, Telegram was ordered to repay $1.2 billion to investors as part of a preliminary injunction imposed by the District Court for the Southern District of New York, as well as pay an $18.5 million civil penalty.<\/p>","definition":"a type of crowdfunding that uses cryptocurrency to raise funds for start-ups.","status":"published","meta_title":"What is Initial Coin Offering (ICO)? Definition & Meaning | Crypto Wiki","meta_description":"Initial Coin Offering (ICO) meaning: Initial Coin Offering (ICO) - a type of crowdfunding that uses cryptocurrency to raise funds for start-ups.","meta_keywords":null,"author":{"id":1,"user_id":1,"created_at":"2023-05-03T14:30:55.000000Z","updated_at":"2023-05-11T07:18:20.000000Z","title":"Editor-In-Chief","slug":"aaron-s-editor-in-chief","description":"<p>Having completed a Master’s degree on Economics, Politics & Culture for the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers with a comparative analysis of the differences between US’ Western and Japan’s Collective forms of capitalism, 1945-2020.<\/p>\n<p>With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.<\/p>\n<p>Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.<\/p>","user":{"id":1,"first_name":"Aaron","last_name":"S.","email":"aaron@bitdegree.org","email_sanitized":"aaron@bitdegree.org","email_verified_at":"2023-12-01T09:40:20.000000Z","must_verify_email":false,"is_registered_with_wallet":false,"status":"active","country":"LT","last_connected_ip":"88.119.132.125","image_id":2641,"referral_token":"05TMu2NysXOCn525","referred_by":null,"created_at":"2023-05-03T14:30:55.000000Z","updated_at":"2024-01-09T15:22:21.000000Z","full_name":"Aaron S."}}}" :chapter-list="[{"id":1,"title":"Blockchain","slug":"blockchain","updated":null,"chapter":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-blockchain.jpg","chapter_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/blockchain-101.jpg","rating":100,"sections":[{"chapter_id":1,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-blockchain","title":"What is the Blockchain?","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":1,"order":2,"slug":"decentralized-blockchain","title":"Anonymous & Decentralized Blockchains: The Cornerstone of Crypto","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":1,"order":3,"slug":"blockchain-transaction","title":"What is a Blockchain Transaction in Crypto?","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":1,"order":4,"slug":"crypto-fees","title":"The Different Types of Crypto Fees Explained","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":1,"order":5,"slug":"what-is-bridging-in-crypto","title":"The Key Notion Behind the Concept of Bridging in Crypto","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":1,"order":6,"slug":"types-of-blockchains","title":"Different Types of Blockchains: What to Look Out For?","status":"published","modified_content":null}]},{"id":2,"title":"Cryptocurrencies","slug":"cryptocurrencies","updated":null,"chapter":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters\/learn-cryptocurrencies.jpg","chapter_simple":"crypto\/assets\/crypto-book\/chapters-simple\/cryptocurrencies-101.jpg","rating":100,"sections":[{"chapter_id":2,"order":1,"slug":"what-is-a-cryptocurrency","title":"What is a Cryptocurrency?","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":2,"order":2,"slug":"how-does-cryptocurrency-work","title":"How Does Cryptocurrency Work?","status":"published","modified_content":null},{"chapter_id":2,"order":3,"slug":"is-cryptocurrency-a-good-investment","title":"Is Cryptocurrency a Good Investment? 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