The initial coin offering (ICO) era came to a screeching halt following a statement made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that effectively told issuers to halt the process. During the wild and crazy days of ICOs, millions or billions were both made and lost. The SEC eventually decided to regulate all crypto as securities (except Bitcoin and Ethereum), launching a multitude of enforcement actions against ICO issuers who were deemed to have transgressed existing securities law.
This week, CoinList claims that the ICO market is making a comeback. While it will not be the same as the ICO ragers of the past, CoinList believes the regulatory transition from the Biden Administration to the Trump government bodes well for “token launches.”
Via X, CoinList claims the return of ICOs will arrive because:
- Incentive alignment: Token buyers are more invested in protocols than airdrop recipients.
- Higher upside: ICOs level the playing field for retail investors.
- User acquisition: ICOs bootstrap early user acquisition by selling tokens to incentive-aligned investors that drive word of mouth and product evangelism
- New sale mechanisms: With new sale types available — auctions, node sales, fixed price sales…
- Funding: ICOs bootstrap capital formation to fund DAO or foundation operations.
- Decentralization: ICOs allow projects to achieve decentralization earlier in their lifecycle
- Regulatory shift: With a Trump-era SEC, the upcoming MiCA token launch framework in Europe, and an increasing number of crypto friendly jurisdictions around the world, founders feel more emboldened to launch tokens without fear of enforcement.
