It took less than 7 days to receive over 350 applications for our analyst program after we released our Public Beta. We require potential analysts to turn in previous ICO evaluations they have completed as well as complete an ICO evaluation of our choosing. We received several different types of evaluation techniques and metrics. Furthermore, we realized that we would have to incorporate guidelines into our platform to make sure analysts are doing relatively the same degree of research as well as provide our users with a way to compare different types of evaluations.
We have made the guidelines available on github (as well as below). We would love to hear the communities feedback!
The ICOToday rating system evaluates companies launching ICOs for three important and critical factors:
- Risk Assessment
- Company Potential
- Community Awareness
These factors will have corresponding scores. The risk assessment will include the Legal analysis since compliance contributes to the risk of the ICO. Below are the scores. The numeric score will be converted to a sentiment based on our algorithm.
Company Potential — Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High
Risk — Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High
Awareness — Very Low, Low, Medium, High, Very High
Below is the breakdown of what each score means.
Risk Assessment (1–10)
The purpose of the risk assessment is to simply inform a user on our platform how likely they are to lose their funds if they choose to participate in a particular ICO. This portion of the analysis will be best performed by a technologist or an analyst with a deep understanding of blockchain technology. Several factors will need to be taken into considerations.
- The Team
- Existing Progress and Roadmap
- Partner and Investor Profile
- Transparency
- Token Distribution
- Use & Allocation of Funds
- Escrow
- Vesting
- Legal Compliance
Company Potential (1–10)
The Company Potential is a measure of the long term potential of the company. This section will evaluate the likelihood that a company launching an ICO will be successful in their respective market. This section of the analysis will be best performed by a Financial Analyst. Several factors will need to be taken into considerations.
- Valuation or Market Cap
- Size of the Market
- Growth Prospects/Development Timeline
- Business Model
- Product disruption and usefulness
Community Awareness (1–10)
The Awareness and Community score is a measure of the traction that the company has been able to gather. This will gauge the potential of the ICO’s success in the short term. This section of the analysis can be performed by both a Financial Analyst and a Technologist. Several factors will need to be taken into consideration.
- Size of Community
- Engagement
- Media Mentions
Analysts are to personalize the factors that they consider while evaluating an ICO.
