ICOs

OK, here is another AWESOME blockhain 'spinoff"; the ICO (initial coin offering). So once again, nobody heard of an ICO back a year or so ago but now most of us are at least aware of the acronym. Not only has the distributed ledger technology (DLT) created a new way of raising capital (the ICO), there is a whole NEW financial subculture forming. The innovation and applications for ICO projects is just astounding. Oh yeah, one BIG spinoff industry? Conferences. Make sure that if you sign up for one, it has great food.

(Bill Taylor/CEO)


"When befuddlement emanates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, arguably the world’s foremost grantor of geek cred, you know you are in truly new territory.

Here’s what it is: An initial coin offering, or ICO, is a fundraising mechanism based on a “cryptocurrency,” such as bitcoin.

An ICO can launch a whole new cryptocurrency (there has been a proliferation of new flavors in recent months), or it can be used to create “tokens” used to fund a new business.

For instance, an ICO can allow a new data-storage company to pre-sell tokens to be used as a digital form of payment for distributed file storage.

That is the essential story behind the Filecoin ICO, which raised hundreds of millions of dollars in a presale to some of the biggest investors in Silicon Valley. The technology, which promises to enable the use of excess storage capacity on all kinds of computers — sort of an Airbnb of hard drives — is being built with funds from the token sale.

And yet, nothing about an ICO is that simple. As the CEO of a new enterprise cloud platform planning to launch an ICO this year, I can tell you from the front lines that this market truly is a through-the-looking-glass experience.

With its own jargon, murky regulation, a gold-rush atmosphere and hundreds of millions of dollars in play for some of the bigger projects, it has become nothing short of its own financial subculture..."

Full Story at BusinessInsider