More than 100 ICOs per month in 2018, reports PwC

A total of 537 initial coin offerings (ICOs) took place in the first five months of 2018, generating proceeds of $13.7 billion, according to a report by PwC.

ICO activity has accelerated in the first five months of 2018: Shutterstock

The ‘Big Four’ auditor has issued ‘Initial Coin Offerings: a Strategic Perspective’, which reports that the total raised between January  and May this year exceeds that from all pre-2018 ICOs combined.

Switzerland-based Crypto Valley Association also participated in the research, which found that the amount raised from digital currencies sales has almost doubled compared with 2017. The report also revealed that of the 3,470 ICOs announced since the first token offering in 2013, only 30% of closed successfully, while many were either delayed or lost momentum during the ICO process.

Favoured locations

The US continued to be a leading destination to host ICOs in the period January to May 2018, with 56 token sales registered raising $1.1 billion. Switzerland is the ICO capital of Europe, but this year has seen the UK gain ground in terms of volume and numbers. In the fist five months a total of 48 ICOs registered in the UK, raising $507 million.

Funding for the 537 token sales in the period January to May 2018 is likely to have come mostly from investors who already hold large sums of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, as to invest in tokens investors are required to send BTC and ETH to the project operators.

The report was compiled by Daniel Diemers, head of blockchain EMEA at PwC Strategy, who worked with Crypto Valley and four researchers based in New York, Hong Kong and Zurich. “After all the hype of 2017, this year has seen the ICO sector becoming more mature and established, with an improved focus on best business and legal practice, investor relations and fundraising,” he commented.

“Hybrid models of combined venture capital and ICO financing are increasingly bringing together the best of what both have to offer, so that the soundness of a business is validated while it realises its market potential by receiving crowd support,” Diemers added.

He believes that the legal and investor relations aspect of ICOs will improve in the months ahead, so the failure rate of ICOs will decline and more projects will find success with appropriate partners and investors.