“The ICO market changed,” they said…
Undoubtedly the ICO market has changed dramatically over the past six months. There are literally hundreds of projects trying to sell every week. It goes without saying that the vast majority of these are a complete waste of space!
If you look properly it is easy to see that most have no clear vision, a real absence when it comes to providing a business model, seriously dubious teams as well as outrageous reasons for blockchain to be used, (and this is just a fraction of the amazing attributes accompanying each of these bogus projects that we are witnessing going for crowdsale these days!)
The market has changed. But has it really?
What is, in fact, going on and where it is all heading?
It looks like all of these people still have the impression that a fancy landing page and a cool 60+ pages white paper is going to bring you millions and millions of dollars — just follow a few simple rules, and you are bound to succeed! But believe me, your useless tokens will not sell like hotcakes . . .
As practice has shown, it is notably different in the real world of severe competition and hardstone crypto reality. If you limit your project to nothing but a dog and pony show, you will end up with one BIG nothing, and furthermore, you seriously damage the community by shattering confidence and undermining trust.
Recently, I have been watching a lot of the latest projects going for ICO, very closely. One thing I do feel is extremely sorry to admit that a respectful part of them was not worth a straw, either in their scope, idea, mission or just blockchain technology usage — which honestly, is rather sad. As a rule, I am one of those few people that still believe in the bright future of the whole ICO concept and of crowdfunding in general.
What can we envision for recently finished and upcoming ICO projects?
Another marketplace? P2p microfinance? ICO for ICO? Yet another fund? Please. What has happened to you, crypto revolutionary? Where is your rebellious spirit? Why don’t you want to change the world anymore?
Sorrowful stats say that approximately 95% of projects that underwent ICO failed to deliver any product at all — that, alone, should create concerns.
It looks like bringing the idea to life is a real hustle and is truly a tight spot for this swarm of blockchain revolutionary guys — (you know the type) — those wearing the flashy sneakers comin’ straight outta the barbershop.
It seems like bringing at least some sort of MVP is mission impossible!
Of course, it is a precarious market, and everyone should comprehend the risks. But hey!
9 out of 10 projects fail completely — (which should be ringing alarm bells!)
On the other hand, is it the infrastructure’s fault that the team fails? Why blame ICO? Similarly, the question could be asked, if an inexperienced rally driver crashes into a tree would you blame the car for the incident?
No.
So let’s talk about ICO infrastructure and the marketing involved that surrounds it, (which trust me, is a real three-ring circus).
If you are not involved in any kind of ICO, you most likely have no clue what these blackguards are up to now. No matter what you want to do, it will more than likely end up as a highway robbery.
Everybody goes NUTS.
“What is that you need, sweety? PR? A couple of articles? Facebook traffic? Google?”
Sure. The price tag starts at $10k — and that’s just for the handshake!
It doesn’t matter what you need, it. is. going. to. cost.
“The ICO market changed.” But what does that really mean?
Incompetence and an excessive amount of scam projects cast a dark shadow on the whole ICO story. What is remarkable, is how people from within the industry are reflecting on it. We are experiencing what can only be comparable to the ‘wild west’ version of the market, and so the saga continues.
As of now, we are not yet even at the stage of early followers! And for sure there will be tons of manipulators — people eager to make easy money (in their understanding). What is important for those of us who are here to stay and for those who are not knights of the road, is to stick to our principles and keep on working to develop what we have once started.
So many people are asking if ICO’s “are done” and I just cannot get my head around them! It is not done at all. As a matter of fact, it hasn’t even begun!
What is happening now is a natural stage of healthy development. Yes, there might be some negative aspects here and there, but overall, we are heading forward.
Soon, this wave of scam projects will be nothing but history.
The bottom line is that this tremendously huge amount of shady ICO projects will disappear. It is inevitable. The community has to create certain mechanisms of control and evaluation. Otherwise, it will just last forever.
What we need are quality projects, as it is these that are changing things around. I, for one, am convinced that it is only the projects that aim toward societal transformation that will make it through (sorry for the ad, but check out zkylos.io — a project that we are developing and is really doing something good for society!)
Ultimately, projects should not be afraid to admit that their token is a security in its essence since all of the tokens by their nature are actual securities anyway.
So, has the ICO market really changed?
Yes and no.
We are at an embryonic stage and great happenings are still to come.
Elias Konstantinides | Founder & CEO Zkylos.io
