ICO Scams: How to Avoid Fake Initial Coin Offering Token Ratings

ICO Scams: How to Avoid Fake Initial Coin Offering Token Ratings

FDC Foodcoin

We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities. When assessing an initial coin offering it’s important to ask yourself whether you believe the project truly needs a blockchain or a native token.

There are currently thousands of different initial coin offerings active in the blockchain environment today, with new ICOs launching every day. Some ICOs have generated hundreds of millions in capital in a matter of minutes, while others have struggled.

Surprisingly, content management is one of the least popular industries for initial coin offerings in 2017. Despite being a highly relevant sector to the blockchain, the content management related ICOs currently present in the market have seen a low adoption rate.

While the Public Key represents some kind of account number, the Private Key, which enables the token to be used, is only known to the potential holder[xvi]. With an ICO, tokens that are only offered online are registered in the blockchain.[xii] The token standard frequently used is ERC20.

If the answer is no, then it’s highly likely that the ICO in question is a prime example of “solutionism”, or using crypto for the sake of using crypto, or potentially a scam. Real estate is traditionally a high value industry, which does not lend itself to the fundamental nature of initial coin offerings. There have been a handful of projects that have attempted to raise capital through ICO platforms, which have as a whole raised just $9.085 USD. The disparity between the expensive real estate industry and the nature of ICOs makes it doubtful that real estate as whole will capture more attention in the ICO sector.

About Foodcoin

Rating and stats platform for cryptocurrency ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) © All rights reserved. Foodcoin Ecosystem is a blockchain ecosystem designed to put up a global marketplace of food and agricultural products on the platform of 1000EcoFarms, using Ethereum technology. The platform is aimed to provide to the large and small producers and consumers of agricultural products an equal access to the global market of production and distribution of consumable goods for and foodstuffs using modern financial instruments. BaFin had previously clarified in a consumer warning[vii] and a technical article for consumers[viii] that not all ICOs are subject to financial market regulation. In addition to a consumer warning[ix], ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) issued an issuer warning[x], emphasizing that there are ICOs outside the regulatory framework according to Capital Market Law.

ESMA as well as BaFin already clarified that tokens can be securities within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive. This also applies to the Prospectus Directive and thus to the Prospectus Regulation which (gradually) replaces the WpPG until July 21, 2019. A security are those “classes of securities which are negotiable on the capital market”[xxvii], with the exception of “instruments of payment”[xxviii] and, for prospectus law, “money market instruments […] having a maturity of less than 12 months”[xxix]. The rapid rise in public interest in blockchain platforms, combined with the technical terminology and regulatory absence have created an environment in which fraudulent initial coin offerings have become extremely common.

Many initial coin offerings present compelling arguments in their white papers, outlining massive markets that could potentially be massively disrupted by blockchain tech. The blockchain ecosystem has spawned a number of PR and marketing firms that specialize in blockchain technology and initial coin offerings. Some of these platforms, such as Token Market, ICO Box, and Waves take this concept a step further, offering startups a complete startup package.

Financial

The main difference between successful unsuccessful token sales is the quality of the initial coin offering itself. Initial coin offerings, or ICOs, are an extremely successful and popular method of generating startup capital through the process of tokenization.

food coin ico

Munchee was attempting to raise money to create a cryptocurrency that would work within the app to order food. This is the first instance of the SEC issuing a cease and desist for an ICO for unregistered securities. As one might imagine, we have compiled over 1,000 initial coin offering token scams and put them all in a list. Initial coin offerings, or ICOs, have attracted a significant amount of attention recently for the destabilizing influence this largely unregulated aspect of the cryptocurrency industry has had on the price of Bitcoin, and the crypto market as a whole.

  • BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) commented on a possible regulatory assessment of ICOs by means of advisory letters and its publication series.
  • It acknowledges that the definition of the rights associated with tokens are flexible.
  • The securities concept of the WpHG and the WpPG is influenced by European law and originates (directly or indirectly) from the MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II).

However, ICOs are considered high-risk and high-reward investment ventures, therefore there are a couple of aspects that you must keep in mind to ensure that your capital doesn’t go to waste. For investors, ICOs can be a pretty great investment vehicle, often netting them significant returns on investment. However, because of the largely unregulated nature of initial coin offerings and the cryptocurrency market itself, investing in ICOs can be very risky.

Global Blockchain Ecosystem for Food

Tokens themselves are data (packages)[xiii] that are issued by means of a transfer agreement for negotiable instruments, which can also be a Smart Contract[xiv]. Two separate keys are created for this purpose[xv], a Private Key and a Public Key. According to the order, in the course of the offering, the company and other promoters emphasized that investors could expect that efforts by the company and others would lead to an increase in value of the tokens. The company also emphasized it would take steps to create and support a secondary market for the tokens.

By investing into an ICO, you’re basically putting your money to work. Wise ICO investments consist of companies which are transparent about how the funds will be used. Serious start-ups will often share all these details, and even state what percentage of the funds will go to marketing, employees, project development, future investments and more. Before the introduction of smart contracts on the blockchain network and the appearance of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), start-ups which wanted to raise money for their project had to rely on investors, initial public offerings and of course, their own pockets.

There are many cryptocurrency scams to look out for when parting with your money which BitConnect showed. On 16th January 2018, the project announced it was “closing its lending and exchange platform”. Just like that, BCC’s price plummeted along with its market cap, leaving many investors with considerable losses and a hard-earned lesson.

With regards to the regulatory issues raised in this article, it’s necessary to point out that this is an issue faced all over the world for ICOs and cryptocurrency. With any emerging, disruptive technology, a period of high risk and uncertainty will always precede a more regulated market with discernable rules.

Finding the right investment is a problem that many investors face often. To solve this issue, they have to invest with knowledge about the market. To help investors like you, our blog reviews start-ups that are having ICOs soon. FoodCoin Ecosystem (FCE) is a blockchain ecosystem, architecturally designed to create a global marketplace of food and agricultural products on the existing platform of 1000EcoFarms with the opportunity to add other platforms. FCE will be based on Ethereum technology as a universal trading platform for businesses dealing with food broadly defined.

The information on this website (including any websites or files that may be linked or otherwise accessed through this website) is provided solely as general information to the public. We do not give personalized investment advice or other financial advice.

With that high risk comes the potential for high reward, which may be the case for the TE-FOOD ICO. Investing in cryptocurrencies and other Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or other ICOs. Since each individual’s situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. As of the date, this article was written, the author owns no cryptocurrency in any quantity.

The SEC also has a Distributed Ledger Technology Working Group that focuses on various emerging applications of distributed ledger technology in the financial industry. Crypto Briefing provides general information about cryptocurrency news, ICOs, and blockchain technology.

BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) commented on a possible regulatory assessment of ICOs by means of advisory letters and its publication series. It acknowledges that the definition of the rights associated with tokens are flexible. The securities concept of the WpHG and the WpPG is influenced by European law and originates (directly or indirectly) from the MiFID II (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II).

Because of these and other company activities, investors would have had a reasonable belief that their investment in tokens could generate a return on their investment. You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment.

This means the SEC is gearing up to crack down on ICOs that they deem to be misleading investors. The first strike came on December 11, 2017, when the SEC halted Munchee, a California company with a food review app.

Throughout 2017 there have been many ICOs that have attempted to defraud investors and separate them from their crypto. For those who do not know, an ICO is a form of crowdfunding, where companies create tokens which other people buy, in order to raise money for their projects. Many have referred to ICOs as a combination between Kickstarter-projects and Initial Public Offerings, as investors can get both advantages, but also monetary rewards in the long run.