5 Most Successful ICOs of All Time
Many people who invest in cryptocurrencies are into ICOs, even if there are a lot of ICO compliance obligations, recordkeeping, monitoring responsibilities, reporting requirements, and other laws and regulations involved.
ICOs have become a very common topic, particularly as cryptos such as Ethereum and Bitcoin have been growing in value over the years. ICO topics are usually surrounded by speculation and excitement. However, they are also considered very risky for investors.
ICOs allowed a lot of projects to get funds throughout 2017 and 2018, promising to aid in building the new digital future. Unfortunately for those who were excited over this, many ICOs ended up not living up to the expectations.
At the same time, there are several ICOs that are successful. Here is a top 5 of the most successful ICOs.
- Ethereum
Obviously, Ethereum had to make it to the list. It is not only successful, but it was also one of the earliest ICOs.
The ICO debuted in 2014 and had a price of around $0.31. In no more than 42 days, it was able to raise close to $18 million. Then, in January 2018, its price increased to $1,417. It became one of the crypto ecosystems with the largest value.
What’s great about Ethereum is that it is a ledger technology that can be used when building decentralized applications through smart contracts, so it is not just an amazing digital currency. One can use the multi-application platform of Ethereum to digitize and streamline multiple business processes and improve them.
- NEO
NEO is an open-source blockchain project from China. Over the years, it circulated under different names. Despite its names, people seem to prefer to call it by its nickname, respectively China’s Ethereum. NEO used decentralized commerce and smart contract applications, and this is how it obtained the nickname.
Thanks to the Chinese government’s support, but also the support of Microsoft Corp. and multiple other businesses, the company had a very large ICO. At first, the token price was just a bit more than 3 cents. Then, it was raised to $180. As a result, a lot of NEO investors had the chance to make large profits, which is what makes the token so successful.
- IOTA
IOTA is very popular. This is because the offering is unique compared to other ICOs available. It mixes elements from blockchain technology and the Internet of Things in order to do transactions, so it is not a surprise it is so popular.
The initial coin offering of IOTA managed to sell a billion tokens back in 2015. As such, it got more than $400,000. The initial token price was $0.63, but it managed to reach $5.69.
It is not as high as other ICOs, but its ROI was 332,500% for new investors. So, it makes sense why the ICO is so successful and made it to the list.
The transaction ledger of IOTA is completely decentralized. Its environment brings no fees, and it doesn’t need a blockchain for transactions.
- EOS
The initial token price of EOS was $0.925. Only several days after its release, it managed to reach $5 in price.
EOS is a crypto token that is sold by Block.one blockchain architecture start-up. Five days after the ICO appeared, it managed to raise as much as $185 million.
EOS offers databases, scheduling, account permissions, internet-application communication tools, and authentication. Therefore, it is considered a great alternative to Ethereum.
EOS declared that its proof-of-stake platform is able to handle thousands more transactions every second compared to Ethereum. Developers can operate without being concerned about any cryptography implementations that are too advanced.
- Stratis
The list would not be complete without Stratis, as it earned its place as one of the most successful ICOs. It started with an initial token price of $0.007, but at one point, it reached $22.29, and the token offered 81,000% ROI for early investors.
The Stratis platform is based in the UK and has compatibility with various programming languages. Businesses can use it to test, deploy and create applications without having to spend time working on their own infrastructure or maintaining it.
In just five weeks, the Stratis ICOs managed to raise nearly 1000 bitcoins. They were worth about $675,000 in the beginning.
Final Thoughts
If you’re considering ICOs, it is important to choose the best ones out there. You will stumble upon many ICOs, yet not all of them are successful, so you should avoid them and look towards the ones presented in this post.
