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Of the highest funded crowdfunding projects in history, blockchain ICOs dominate; occupying 17 of the top 20 positions including the three highest funded projects. ieo meaning Explaining what is initial exchange offering it is vital to highlight, that for investors and projects alike, understanding the nuances of IEOs is crucial in this dynamic crypto landscape. As we witness the rise of more innovative and credible platforms, the IEO is poised to become a cornerstone of crypto investment strategies.
IEOs and IDOs: An Evolution in Crypto Fundraising
Once the offering is complete, tokens typically become available for trading on the exchange. Since the world’s first successful Initial Coin Offering (ICO) was held by the Mastercoin project in July 2013, we’ve https://www.xcritical.com/ seen many blockchain projects run their own fundraising campaigns this way. However, the ICO fundraising model has several drawbacks, something that has led to the emergence of other tools for cryptocurrency projects to raise funds.
The IEO space is getting crowded
For example, Binance requires users to use the Binance coin (BNB) and Huobi requires users to use Huobi Token (HT) in order to purchase tokens during an IEO. IEOs are directly listed on the exchange, meaning that new projects have access to a large, highly liquid market. That allows the project selling the tokens to enjoy access to a rapt audience already interested in buying new tokens and enables the possibility for sales to be boosted by the marketing power of the exchange. In addition, some IEOs, like those on Binance Launchpad, let users buy new tokens with funds they already hold on the exchange, making it very easy for users to invest in new projects.
Ethereum (ETH) price prediction 2024 – 2040
What all these initial offerings have in common is that they create a set number of crypto assets in the form of a token or coin to sell to the public, usually at a fixed price. The IEO is unique because the sale of these initial tokens is managed by an existing crypto asset exchange instead of directly by the project team. That’s where a nascent crypto project sells coins for its new blockchain or tokens to run on another one like Ethereum or BNB Chain. Securities and Exchange Commission chased after issuers for securities violations.
What Is an IEO? Initial Exchange Offerings [2020 Guide]
- In January 2019, Binance launched its first IEO, the BitTorrent Tokens (BTT) sale, where tokens sold out in less than 18 minutes and raised over $7.1 million.
- ICOs were able to raise unprecedented amounts of money at their peak, which eclipsed both traditional venture capital funding and incumbent platforms such as Kickstarter.
- All exchanges that are offering IEOs require you to register or create an account on their platform.
- For example, during the Brave ICO, $35 million worth of Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) sold out in less than 30 seconds.
- Finally, many exchanges require you to use their own native tokens in order to participate.
- Blockcloud is a blockchain-based architecture that was recently launched on the OK Jumpstart platform as the first IEO venture selling 1 billion tokens and raising a total of 8 million dollars.
Post-IEO, there’s often a rush of trading activity, which can lead to significant price fluctuations. Investors need to brace themselves for this rollercoaster ride, understanding that the value of their investment can swing wildly in a short period. The platforms’ vetting procedures, at best, allow new projects that they believe are a good fit for the platform.
But it was just another bubble and many people lost a lot of money while very few profited immensely. Although as with ICOs they are still happening, they are no longer the main focus of the crypto world. KuCoin Spotlight’s first offering was MultiVac, which is a blockchain scalability solution that emphasizes sharding technology. The MultiVac IEO sold out on the KuCoin Spotlight platform in only 7 seconds. Though ICOs have been in decline, the Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) have been gaining a lot of attention recently because of the rise in popularity and the rapid sales cycles that are reminiscent of ICOs.
A core difference between IEOs and IDOs is that an exchange’s permission is not required to conduct an IDO. Instead of exchanges, vocal community members vet projects and tokens, and then the tokens issued via IDO are listed on a DEX. Once you are registered, verified, and have the platform tokens, you are ready to purchase crypto assets through an Initial Exchange Offering. Binance allows users to purchase tokens on a “first-come, first-served” basis until the initial supply runs out. Huobi requires users to hold their Huobi Token (HT) for a certain amount of time so that the more HT you hold, then more IEO tokens you can purchase. Once the sale is over, you can freely trade your newly acquired tokens on the same exchange.
However, its IEO platform is Bittrex International, which is based in Malta because Malta offers crypto exchanges the regulatory certainty that the U.S. does not. Huobi Global is one of the longest-running crypto-asset exchanges in the world having started in 2013. Huobi Tokens(HT) are essential to using the Huobi Prime token sale platform. The limits of what participants are allowed to purchase during the IEO are also directly tied to how many HT they are holding for a certain period of time. Exchanges will commonly have a well-organized legal structure that protects them from regulatory consequences.
BitDegree aims to uncover, simplify & share Web3 & cryptocurrency education with the masses. Join millions, easily discover and understand cryptocurrencies, price charts, top crypto exchanges & wallets in one place. Under an IEO, token issuers are not responsible for managing the crowdsale security, and they may take advantage of the exchange’s large client base to attract more investors. In addition, Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering processes are also conducted by the exchange rather than by the token issuer. The regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies, including IEOs, remains a complex and evolving area.
Ki Chong first discovered Bitcoin in 2013 and has been hooked on the decentralized dream ever since. Originally from Los Angeles, he spent 4 years in Cambodia as the founder of the first 3D printing business in the country. Since leaving his business, he has devoted himself fulltime to blockchain technology in general and Ethereum in particular. To showcase the due diligence and review process of the IEO system, Bittrex actively removed one of its IEO projects right before it was scheduled to take place. The RAID team had a major partnership that was canceled before the IEO event, so Bittrex decided to cancel the offering.
For example, a coin may have already been minable but was then only available to miners. ICOs can also be public (open to anyone) or private (open to select investors, etc.). We publish guides, reviews and news on tech, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, blockchain & privacy. Our content is updated regularly to keep our privacy-minded readers safe, informed & up to date. When this article was written in 2019 we were witnessing the height of the IEO boom.
The energy and speed in which new IEOs (IEO list here) are being launched and closed could signify that this is just an outlet for the demand that had been simmering beneath the surface this entire time. Binance Launchpad’s first IEO was for Bittorrent Token (BTT) and ended on 29 January 2019. BitTorrent was acquired by TRON in July 2018 so the BTT token is built on the TRON network. The exchange will also commonly have some kind of Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification required in order to use its services. Participants send donations through the platform that hosts the IEO, as opposed to ICOs, where contributions are delivered to smart contracts.
Anyone with some basic smart contract knowledge and web development skills could put together a shiny website with a promising-looking roadmap and start raising money. It was a far cry from ideal and carried tremendous risk for anyone investing in ICOs. There are thousands of cryptocurrency and blockchain projects in existence or under development. Most projects require some sort of financial incentive to keep developers and contributors engaged. Not all projects can rely on donations or contributions from generous asset holders. An IEO is different from an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in that it’s made possible with the help of a cryptocurrency exchange like Binance.
For investors, this makes it easier to exit their position, should they feel the need to do so. When developers of a cryptocurrency project decide they want to organize an IEO, a complicated procedure must be followed before the first dollar can be raised. Decentralized exchanges tend to be a lot smaller than centralized exchanges, meaning that the traffic that a new project receives might be substantially smaller than the traffic on an IDO. Alternatively, availability and circulation may have been limited by the organization behind the project.
Additionally, they need to determine if their Initial Exchange Offering will have a hard or soft cap. A hard cap ensures that no more than a certain amount of money can be invested. A soft cap sets an initial goal to be reached but allows for more investments to trickle in afterward. Having a robust business model, experienced team members, a viable use case for the technology, and providing a whitepaper are absolutely crucial. Organizing an IEO is akin to stating that they are committed to the long-term success of the project. IEOs are either another hot crypto fad or a sign that the ecosystem is maturing.