Blockchain economy: the challenges and opportunities of initial coin offerings
Bennet Schierstedt, Vincent C. Göttel, Lisa Klever · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2022
Blockchain technology has the potential to fundamentally change the world leading to a structural reorganisation of our economy. Although the blockchain chain economy bears enormous opportunities for business model development, many entrepreneurs still underestimate its immense potential. Initial coin offerings (ICO) are one of the most prominent applications of the blockchain technology and represent a new form of crowd financing, especially for early-stage blockchain-based start-ups. ICOs have already raised billions of dollars for a variety of new ventures, attracting the interest not only of entrepreneurs and investors but also of regulators and academics. While this chapter analyses the blockchain technology as a driver of digital entrepreneurship and the development of new digital business models, it particularly focuses on ICOs. The aim of this chapter is to assess ICOs based on the extant literature, and to highlight the various opportunities, but also the associated challenges that should be considered by start-ups.