There’s no denying the blockchain phenomenon, or that of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). But it seems like ICOs are surfacing in the media more and more with every passing the day.
It’s not just media buzz: a report by CBInsights shows that since January 2016, over 250 blockchain-focused firms have completed ICOs, with more than half of those ICOs being completed during or after July 2017.
The report suggests that ICOs are turning out to be the preferred method of raising funds for these companies, instead of the once popular equity-backed fund raising method.
Case in point: in the first quarter of the year, ICOs raised only $38 million in funding compared to $138 million raised in equity-backed funding. In Q3’17, however, a staggering $1.32 billion was raised in ICO funding compared to a meager $259 million in equity-backed funding.
Not only that, the report suggests that the number of ICOs will surpass the number of equity deals this October. ICOs have closed more than $2 billion in funding from year to date, according to the report.
However, the report cautions that this “over capitalization” on ICOs is a growing concern, citing that “teams holding ICOs might be receiving too much money too quickly.”
Read the full report here.