The co-founder of a successful ICO-funded platform believes that the market is changing and it’s becoming more and more expensive for startups to launch ICOs.
Last year saw the crypto industry filled with drama as prices soared and mad rushes ensued as people tried to get a piece of that FOMO-inducing Bitcoin action. It also saw a lot of startups turn to ICOs as a way to raise the capital they needed for their businesses. Tony Pearce’s gaming platform was one of those involved in the ICO revolution.
The Rising Cost of ICOs
According to GamesIndustry.biz, Pearce is one of the co-founders of Reality Gaming Group, which is the studio responsible for the mobile AR shooter game, Reality Clash. The latter was made possible through an ICO that generated $3.5 million. However, while Pearce’s venture achieved success, he warns that as the industry continues to evolve, other startups might not experience the same, relatively inexpensive, joy. He explained:
It’s amazing what’s happened in the last year – I can’t believe how much has changed. We spent hardly anything when we did our ICO because we were an interesting project. At the time, the only ICOs that were happening were big blockchain enterprise projects and big tech stuff. We came along with this cool, sexy game and actually stood out from the crowd.
Pearce added that while initially eliciting excitement from potential investors, gaming ICOs may have lost some of their luster. He believes that ICO hopefuls today would actually need to have some of their own capital before they even think of using this decentralized funding model. He says:
Twelve months on, if we were to do the same thing again, it would cost us £200,000 to £300,000. The cost of just being listed on the bigger ICO listing sites, the cost of marketing through those sites, has just gone through the roof. If you were a brand new ICO, the cost of launching right now… I’ve heard rumours that it’s around the £500,000 mark by the time you’ve got lawyers in, sorted the marketing campaign out – it’s not for start-ups anymore. We were a total start-up, but if we were to do this now, I don’t think we could have afforded to.
Weeding Through the Scams
However, for the public, it’s not just about finding that one exciting project to invest in. It’s also about not falling victim to fraudulent ICOs, something that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to be assisting in with their Operation Cryptosweep.
In addition, success isn’t guaranteed just because funds were raised. Live Bitcoin News reported that a study shows that out of all of the ICOs listed last year, 86% of the tokens are actually trading below their initial listing price while 30% have lost almost all of their value.
However, it is still a multi-billion-dollar industry, raising over $15 billion in the first six months of this year alone.
Do you agree with Pearce? In this age of financial revolution, do you still need to spend money to make money? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Shutterstock.