A public offering of tokens (Initial Coin Offering or ICO ) is a fundraising operation by which a company with a financing need issues tokens , also called “tokens”, to which investors subscribe mainly with cryptocurrencies.
As a type of digital crowdfunding, ICOs enable startups not only to raise funds without giving up equity but also to establish a community of incentivized users who want the project to succeed so their presale tokens rise in value.
While ICOs can offer an easy funding mechanism and an innovative approach for startups to raise money, buyers can also benefit from both access to the service that the token confers as well as a rise in the token’s price if the platform is successful.
These gains can be realized by selling the tokens on an exchange once they’re listed. Or, buyers can double down on the project by purchasing more tokens once they hit the market.
Ethereum’s ICO was one of the first real success stories using this relatively new type of fundraising mechanism, raising $15.5 million in 2014. Fifty million ether tokens (ETH) were sold at $0.311 each, and on May 12, 2021, it hit an all-time high of $4,382.73, offering investors a 1,408,903% return on investment. Now not only is it one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies, but it has enabled an entire ecosystem of decentralized applications (dapps) to blossom from its technology.
