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81% of Recent ICOs Were Scams, Research Finds (bleepingcomputer.com)
Four out of five initial coin offerings (ICOs) that have taken place in the last year have been classified as scams, according to a recent study by Satis Group, an ICO advisory firm. From a report: ICOs have been the rage of the cryptocurrency world because they allow companies to raise money for various ventures by issuing cryptocurrency tokens that users could buy and later trade on cryptocurrency exchanges. The concept is similar to an IPO, but instead of shares, companies issue tokens, and some companies promised to buy tokens back from users after a product became successful and the token's value increases.
The study's results don't bode well for people who've invested in one or more and are expecting profits sometime in the near future. The Satis study organized ICOs in six categories, based on their current status. Only ICOs with a market cap of $50 million or higher have been included in the results, and the percentage of scammy ICOs would have probably bee higher if researchers looked at the smaller ICOs. According to researchers, 81% of ICO's were Scams, 6% were classified as Failed, 5% had Gone Dead, and 8% went on to trade on a exchange.
The study's results don't bode well for people who've invested in one or more and are expecting profits sometime in the near future. The Satis study organized ICOs in six categories, based on their current status. Only ICOs with a market cap of $50 million or higher have been included in the results, and the percentage of scammy ICOs would have probably bee higher if researchers looked at the smaller ICOs. According to researchers, 81% of ICO's were Scams, 6% were classified as Failed, 5% had Gone Dead, and 8% went on to trade on a exchange.
Ha ha!
A fool and his money are parted, especially when that fool wants to play in unregulated financial markets.
Don't tell us you didn't see this one coming.
IPOs are tightly regulated by the SEC for many years. ICOs are scarcely regulated and are the current "hot thing" for speculators. Is anybody truly surprised by this? Of course ICOs will bring out scammers who prey on people hungry for "the next Bitcoin." This is to be as expected as flies drawn to a steaming pile of dung.
In shocking news today apparently 19% of ICOs are not scams. Economists interviewed about this story are at a loss to explain the situation.
Although according to the summary the number is closer to 8%.
I read the internet for the articles.
Looks like some libertarians had a taste of a true free market, unhindered by the burden of overbearing government regulation...