As predicted in our Q4 2017 report, the phenomenon of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) has seen a small dip since Dec 2017, but is rapidly gaining traction again:
•In the first 5 months of 2018, a total of 537 ICO’s with a volume of USD 13.7 bn have been closed successfully
–which is more than all pre-2018 ICOs combined
•Since November 2017 several large scale ICOs have entered the Top 15, dwarfing previous records from 2017
–with Telegram (USD 1.7 bn) and EOS (USD 4.1 bn), the first true ICO Unicorns have appeared
The US, Switzerland and Singapore remain key global ICO hubs, however, over the past months, the UK and HK gained significant ground
ICO regulation continues to emerge around the globe: many jurisdictions have issued their respective guidelines and crypto-regulation. By now, three models are emerging:
•the US (securities-driven)
•Europe (balanced)
•Asia (binary)
Strategically, ICOs continue to crowd out traditional VC funding, especially in technology and Blockchain-related startups. Hybrid models (combining classic VC/PE funding and ICO) are increasingly establishing themselves as a valid funding alternative