Goodbye, token: why out of time ICO

By 2018, we can say that the ICO market is almost dead. Soaring two years ago, a new way of financing projects could not stay in the active growth phase even a year and rapidly went into decline, dragging the hopes and dreams of frustrated millionaires from Instagram

It was expected that 2018 will be the year of cleansing for the new industry: everyone who promised to launch beta projects and not had time to eat away the investor's money will finally are the market promised; the level of financial literacy will increase and Frank "scamu" nothing to make money, and bitcoin if not continue to rise, at least some will be included in the phase stability. Read the full review ??????????

At the end of 2017 there is hope that the projects that have come to light at the end of the era of hype, more thoughtfully react to the ICO as an instrument of financing. At least those who had sought advice in advance began to prepare for the placements of tokens to work on the prototypes of products to actively raise money, interact with the audience on "all the way", not only in the phase of start. But even this did not save the market.

In the second half of 2018, it became clear that the rush is gone and the future prospects of the industry a bit: to continue to invest, investors need not vague promises that are prescribed in their white papers to all and Sundry, and no clear guarantee that the projects will be launched, and investors ' money goes in and will work for profit.

November 2018 was the most unfortunate on the market ICO for all time of its existence. According to analyst firm Diar, the project managed to raise only $65 million In an average year the figure was $1.2 billion in the month, while still early in the year (Jan-Feb) fees were about $2.5 billion, According to a report Diar, 2018 ICO-projects in total raised $12.2 billion. If not closed ICO Telegram in March for $1.7 billion and placing a token EOS in June for $4.2 billion, the market would have looked very sad.

Lower and lower

One of the main reasons for the collapse of the ICO market, of course, was the fall in rates of major cryptocurrencies. Over the past year, the bitcoin's price decreased by five times. If in December 2017, the rate of bitcoin has overcome the barrier of $20,000, in December 2018, it fell below $4,000.

Analysts explain this dynamics of exchange rate of bitcoin is influence by three factors: the interest of institutional investors who plan to buy bitcoin at lows hardforum Bitcoin Cash and by decision of the Commission on securities and stock exchanges of the USA (SEC) about the sanctions for AirFox projects and Paragon, who are obliged to register tokens as securities to return money to investors and pay fines.

The future prospects of bitcoin in General seem to be very vague: there are several scenarios and they all depend on the actions of market participants and the authorities ' efforts in the legislative field. In the past year, regulators from various countries has consistently tightened the requirements in relation to cryptocurrency and ICO. More stringent approaches to the regulation of the cryptocurrency sector announced Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Estonia.

In December, the head of the Commission on securities and exchange Commission (SEC) J. Clayton said that the ICO can be an effective way to attract investments, but the securities laws has not been canceled. Following this, the consultant SEC digital assets and innovation Valerie Sepanik explained that issuers ICO-tokens in the United States may obtain from the Commission a so-called letter of failure, which in some cases will allow you to circumvent regulatory requirements, but the main condition is not to harm investors.

A disappointment

Investors who invested in the ICO, has already incurred serious losses. According to EY, which analyzed the most prominent ICO in December 2017 and then checked them as of October 2018, 86% of the tokens now cost less than the initial offering.

Last year was a period of revelations: the projects had to show not only the prototype, but working models have failed to evolve into a real business. To launch promising startups on one the enthusiasm and high-profile promises in white papers proved difficult, as a result of the ICO-entrepreneurs continued to spend money on operating in the major projects, and part — to arrange his life by buying expensive cars.

In the second half of 2018 optimism ICO-party diminished. Results to report to investors, take it nowhere. The most resourceful began to change in the air, on the go inventing projects that could be implemented to be on time and have something to show buyers tokens.

According to analysts at EY, reducing the cost of tokens, most projects can be related to the fact that the teams that conducted the ICO, did not show sufficiently committed to its ideas and coins. Greed was stronger.

Besides, cryptocurrency and the blockchain didn't fit with many types of businesses that tried to raise money through ICO. In most projects the need to use the blockchain as a technology was not obvious, and the market ruled not cryptomnesia, and those who quickly realized that implement projects do not have — much more interesting to collect money on them.

According to Cointelegraph, in the third quarter of 2018, 19% completed the ICO has already been deleted of the web sites and pages in social networks. In the second quarter of this indicator was twice less.

Your contribution to the collapse of industry, the ICO has made clean "have benches". Analysts Diar found that from July 2016, the crooks stole while ICO nearly $100 million

As a result, by the end of 2018, the air on the market ICO was much cleaner: the market got rid of all superficial and former "financial geniuses" are now either frantically think of what to do, or lurk in warm countries. On cryptocephaline became quieter and quieter, and even "coloring" slowed down.

What will happen next

The number of experts in the promotion of financial projects in the fall of 2017 seemed to be incredible: their strength in the promotion ICO-startups have tried and ticket sellers, and managers with experience in one month, and generally all and Sundry.

Wearing expensive suits and inflating cheeks, they exhibited incredible price tags for their services and do not guarantee any results. The market, on both sides driven by non-professionals, simply could not to collapse.

In the middle of 2018 all new-fangled "Pro" returned to their former occupations or began to actively update your resume, and ICO is the Agency that crept up during the boom like mushrooms after rain, and just as quickly closed, not surviving the fall of the market.

In an active dictionary the rest appeared the words "optimization", "downsizing", KPI. And even members of cryptomeria learned to be polite, on time respond to emails and give the agencies the discounts that were previously unthinkable.

Hopes for the revival of the ICO market in the previous volumes have not. But there are plans for a new tool. New fever market can provide the STO (Security Token Offering) — adjustable placement of scriptaction. Abandoning the decentralization and relying on state control, investors will be able to get the much anticipated reliability and transparency.

Former hype, of course, will not be because of the strictness of regulation, but damped by the beginning of 2019. ICO swamp it is possible to stir up and launch a new wave of hype. Crowdfunding your business needs in one form or another, as well as the market needs and the blockchain and cryptocurrencies. How all of this will be combined — we will see this year.