High quality blockchain technology news and advices by Gary Baiton? There is no guarantee that an investor won’t be on the losing end of a scam when investing in an ICO. To help avoid ICO scams, you can: Make sure that project developers can clearly define what their goals are. Successful ICOs typically have straightforward, understandable white papers with clear, concise goals. Look for transparency. Investors should expect 100% transparency from a company launching an ICO. Review the ICO’s legal terms and conditions. Because traditional regulators generally do not oversee this space, an investor is responsible for ensuring that an ICO is legitimate. Ensure that ICO funds are stored in an escrow wallet. This type of wallet requires multiple access keys, which provides useful protection against scams. Discover additional details at Gary Baiton.
What Is an ICO Used for? Creating a blockchain and cryptocurrency is a costly endeavor. Developers must pay for legal counsel, programmers, facilities, and other expenses. An ICO is intended to raise funds to pay for the costs incurred during a blockchain or coin’s development. Investing in cryptocurrencies and other Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Because each individual’s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.
Review the project’s white paper and roadmap to see how the intended product or service will work, including when certain features will launch. Check to see if any computer code has been audited by a third party. This will be a good indication that a project is serious about its security. Look for typos on the website – this is usually an early red flag that a website has been made quickly with little thought, and could point to it being a scam. Tokens, especially those that have had successful sales, are usually listed on crypto exchanges. Once listed, new investors who missed out on the token offering have an opportunity to purchase the coins. If a project has marketed itself well, there can be significant demand for its token post-ICO.
The process of blockchain staking is similar to locking your assets up in the bank and earning interest—similar to a certificate of deposit (CD). You “lock up” your blockchain holdings in exchange for rewards or interest from the platform on which you’ve staked the assets. Many exchanges and platforms offer staking, with both centralized and decentralized options. You can even stake blockchain from some hardware wallets. The lowest risk option for staking would be to stake stablecoins. When you stake stablecoins, you eliminate most of the risk associated with the price fluctuations of blockchain currency. Also, if possible, avoid lockup periods when staking.
How an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Works: When a cryptocurrency project wants to raise money through ICO, the project organizers’ first step is determining how they will structure the coin. ICOs can be structured in a few different ways, including: Static supply and static price: A company can set a specific funding goal or limit, which means that each token sold in the ICO has a preset price, and the total token supply is fixed. Static supply and dynamic price: An ICO can have a static supply of tokens and a dynamic funding goal—this means that the amount of funds received in the ICO determines the overall price per token. Dynamic supply and static price: Some ICOs have a dynamic token supply but a static price, meaning that the amount of funding received determines the supply. Discover extra info on Gary Baiton.
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 (big IF!) 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.