What Is an IEO or IDO in Crypto?

Bolivia’s Financial System Supervision Authority (ASFI) issued a resolution https://www.xcritical.com/ in July 2018 that prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies, including ICOs, in the country. Opting for an IEO often can be an interesting option, assuming the developer has a plan of action and is dedicated to seeing the project’s vision delivered.

How to Participate in an IEO: A Guide for Investors

An Initial Exchange Offering, or IEO, is a fundraising event where the sale of tokens is conducted through an established cryptocurrency exchange platform. However, since ICOs are not yet subject to any ieo meaning regulations, the ICO process can be quite risky and opaque. For example, many investors that bought in the 2017 ICO hype were eventually burned by low-quality projects or assets that were deemed unlicensed securities. This challenging set of demands eventually gave rise to Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs). For blockchain projects that generate a lot of buzz, IEO platforms can help them raise capital quickly.

ieo meaning

Pros and Cons of Initial Exchange Offerings

The near-immediate sell-out of BitTorrent and Fetch.AI are indicative of this advantage for projects. For exchanges, the primary advantages are that they get a listing fee and can attract more users to their platform who want to participate in the IEO. These users may even become long-term users of the exchange, whether because they are impressed with the trading experience or are just there solely for the IEOs. IEOs are ostensibly agreements between project developers and exchanges for initial placement of the token on the exchange.

ieo meaning

The IEO: An Evolution of the ICO

Once the IEO begins, investors can purchase the project’s tokens directly from their exchange wallets. The exchange platform facilitates the token sale and ensures transparency by providing updates on the project’s progress to investors. After the IEO is completed, the tokens are listed on the exchange platform for trading. All exchanges that are offering IEOs require you to register or create an account on their platform.

Blockchain and Fundraising Before IEOs

Minting coins of a project before launch – known as a “pre-mine” – and keeping them in a treasury is also possible but often faces criticism from the community. The first Bittrex offering was with VeriBlock (VBK), and since Bittrex does not have its own native token, Bitcoin was the only accepted crypto asset in which you could buy VBK tokens. Another thing that makes this IEO unique is its settlement and vesting schedule, where 50% of VBK tokens are held in escrow by Bittrex for a certain time period. Though IEOs are more restricted than ICOs, it does not mean that they are safe from regulators completely. If anything, they may be more vulnerable, but exchanges and projects have also learned their lessons.

What Is an IEO or IDO in Crypto?

The information provided on this website does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other advice, and you should not treat any of the website’s content as such. By following these tips, you can increase your chances of launching a successful IEO and attracting the support and investment your project needs. Before launching an IEO, it is crucial to analyze your project and the current market scenario. Understand the market needs and identify any gaps or problems your project aims to solve. The purpose of this website is solely to display information regarding the products and services available on the Crypto.com App.

The ICO: An Evolution of Crowdfunding

  • Initial offerings are conducted in rounds that consist of five-minute intervals.
  • Having a robust business model, experienced team members, a viable use case for the technology, and providing a whitepaper are absolutely crucial.
  • You could chalk it up to the hype around the projects, but the IEO likely plays the more influential role in supplementing such successful sales.
  • There were two sessions in which users could participate; one for purchases using BNB tokens and the other using TRON tokens.
  • Projects also have their tokens exposed, particularly in the case of Binance, to vast audiences of investors who are eager for new opportunities to profit.
  • When you ‘invest’ in a platform like kickstarter you only get some benefits in the form of early access to products, promotional gifts or other benefits.

This approach leverages the exchange’s platform to reach a wider audience and gain instant market credibility. Binance Launchpad is essentially a streamlined platform and process for new projects to launch their initial token offerings and then get subsequently listed on the Binance exchange. Binance Launchpad offers full advisory services for startups using its platform for an IEO.

The Rise of Initial Exchange Offerings

Is this type of more restrained, orderly, curated, and serviced crowdfunding the next standard in the blockchain industry? Perhaps the idealism of the very early crypto adopters was too extreme, and the resistance to centralization is softening in order to accommodate more mainstream users, adopters, and builders. To showcase the due diligence and review process of the IEO system, Bittrex actively removed one of its IEO projects right before it was scheduled to take place.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Exchange and the Project Team

ieo meaning

The platforms’ vetting procedures, at best, allow new projects that they believe are a good fit for the platform. Remember that investing in IEOs, like any investment in the cryptocurrency space, carries risks. Conduct thorough research and consider your risk tolerance before participating in any IEO. The lower frequency of IEOs has helped weed out some of the less savory projects in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. However, no method is foolproof, but it appears that IEOs are at least on the right track.

Unfortunately, this method of attracting investment in blockchain startups has several disadvantages, as well. However, it could also be taken that this is the ecosystem maturing and offering much-needed improvements in standards and user experience. It could also be argued that the regulators and extreme market conditions had stopped the initial ICO craze too early when in reality there was still underlying demand that was simply being suppressed. The IEO projects themselves have also learned not to have such extreme or uncapped funding rounds.

Binance allows users to purchase tokens on a “first-come, first-served” basis until the initial supply runs out. Huobi requires users to hold their Huobi Token (HT) for a certain amount of time so that the more HT you hold, then more IEO tokens you can purchase. Once the sale is over, you can freely trade your newly acquired tokens on the same exchange.

The first iteration of blockchain-enabled fundraising was the Initial Coin Offering (ICO), a form of crowdfunding in which an organization sells cryptocurrency or tokens as a means of raising funds. This form of fundraising is generally faster and less cost-prohibitive for companies than more traditional methods such as Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). That’s where a nascent crypto project sells coins for its new blockchain or tokens to run on another one like Ethereum or BNB Chain. Securities and Exchange Commission chased after issuers for securities violations.

The information provided on the Site is for informational purposes only, and it does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. A qualified professional should be consulted prior to making financial decisions. Even as blockchain technology is rapidly developing in myriad fields, it has already radically transformed the way businesses and organizations can raise capital and fund projects. Overall, while IEOs present certain risks that investors need to be aware of, they also offer significant opportunities, especially as the market matures and evolves. With proper due diligence and a cautious approach, participating in IEOs can be a worthwhile venture for those looking to diversify their investment portfolios in the crypto space. Although blockchain technology is relatively new, there are thousands of crypto startups and companies out there.

Other exchanges have also set up their own IEO platforms, each with its benefits, requirements, and potential drawbacks. However, its IEO platform is Bittrex International, which is based in Malta because Malta offers crypto exchanges the regulatory certainty that the U.S. does not. Exchanges will commonly have a well-organized legal structure that protects them from regulatory consequences.

Please note that the availability of the products and services on the Crypto.com App is subject to jurisdictional limitations. Crypto.com may not offer certain products, features and/or services on the Crypto.com App in certain jurisdictions due to potential or actual regulatory restrictions. ‘Minting’ is the process where non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or new coins/tokens are generally generated on Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains. Price discovery is the process by which the market determines the price of a specific cryptocurrency, which is driven by various factors like supply and demand, market sentiment, news, and macroeconomic indicators. The first major exchange to offer the IEO and popularize the practice was Binance through their IEO platform called Binance Launchpad. However, even Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ), admits that they did not invent the concept or the term and were inspired by “centralized ICO” websites that were popular in 2017.