Here Are Things You Should Know Before Buying A Token At An Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

in #steemit7 years ago

Buying a coin at an ICO is very profitable; it is so profitable that you can make thousands of Dollars by buying at a cheap price during the initial coin offering period and sell at a high price when the blockchain goes mainstream.

Many of the ICO scam schemes are targeted towards newbies who are getting familiar with the world of cryptocurrency and looking for quick money online.

The scammers take on people's Ignorance and greed. In three years, over $1.74 billion was spent on ICOs, more reason why we are flooded with ICO ads on Facebook and Google.

In this post, we will look at four ways to spot ICO scams. Knowing this will save you from losing your investment to scammers that took advantage of the simplicity of crowdfunding a blockchain project to scam people all over the globe.


1. No Team Or Fake Team Setup:


It is a common practice now in ICO to have a little about the team behind the project listed on the website with links to their Linkedin and Twitter profile.

Some ICOs even go to an extent of putting a link out to the team member's personal Facebook profile or an email address of the member.

Do your research to make sure the team members are real and they have the required set of skills to bring the project to fruition.

Nothing kills a token fast than a failed project.

You can communicate with the team to learn more about the project, to see how dedicated the team is to develop the project.


2. No Working Platform Before The ICO:


This is a very tricky one because not all ICOs without a working platform are scams. Some promising coin used this strategy to secure funds for the development of their blockchain.

Most times, the investors end up with a promise.

If an ICO uses this strategy, it is important you make your research on the team to determine if the team is able to develop the blockchain they promise to create.

Most scam ICOs don't even have a lead developer, if the ICO has one, please communicate with him/her to know how he plans on developing the blockchain.

Remember if the team fails to build the blockchain, you will end up with shitcoin that is worthless.


3. Fake Or No Adviser Team:


Another way that token developers bring credibility to their ICOs is by setting up a team of advisers that have so many reputable people on board the adviser team.

If you have been in the cryptocurrency world for a while, chances are you might recognize someone on the adviser team that has a good reputation.

High reputation equals to high chances of the project coming to fruition after ICO.


4. A Problem Solving Blockchain:


The project needs to solve a real-world problem for it to go mainstream. You don't want to end up owning a coin that is just a digital currency with no viable service behind it.

The more useful the blockchain is to people in the real-world, the more people will on board and use the token which should drive the market capital high and likewise the price of the token.

How will you know if it will solve real-world problems?

Read the whitepaper, it is necessary to read the whitepaper and look at the roadmap also. You will find all the answers you need in the whitepaper or on the roadmap page.


CONCLUSION:


In buying ICOs, newbies and experts alike need to understand that it is a gamble. You may either end up with a worthy or a worthless coin.

Do your personal research before buying any coin.

My advice is that you should buy some of the established altcoins which already have their community and platform running.

If you have other ways one can spot a scam coin, please share it with us in the comment below.




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I keep getting spammed with all kinds of ads for ICOs on Instagram. I think it's because I've shared Steemit articles on Facebook. I try not to share much on there because of how pervasive their ad targeting is.

I've been tempted on a few of them, but I think I'll just take the money and busy some STEEM. Probably a better investment.

Thanks for the advice, though. These things definitely need to be heard by newbies to the crypto world. Great post.

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Thanks for the tips. Will watch out and learn from others before buying.
@jackpot

Those who are promissing a big return in the future and promisses to change the life of a certain community but comes with no specific project that add value is also a scam ICO.

The number one thing I go after is, do they have a functioning project or it is just base on promises? So many ICO failed to deliver on their promises

Thanks for the info was a great read. There are so many ICOs out there, you really need to do your research. It is comparable to IPOs on penny exchange, a lot of scammers and bs out there. These ICOs are easy money for scammers and investors need to really do their due diligence when buying into them

These ICOs are easy money for scammers and investors need to really do their due diligence when buying into them
Exactly.. Most investors don't know the scammers are after their money than anything. People need to be careful when the buy token from ICOs

This tips should be quite helpful but i will rather invest on established coin. TBC has taught me alot.

TBC is the worst of all shit coin out there. You are right, established coin are safe than new coin. Thanks for your comment.

It is definitely a shit coin. People are still buying out of ignorance though.

Thanks for this piece of important information sir, I must tell you; this is very helpful..... When I was broke... I bought alot of coin hoping that in the nearest future one will shoot out, but till now my loosing is more than that of Arsenal in LEAGUE GAMES

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Great tips. There's always a risk when it comes to investing in ICOs. Only invest what you can afford to lose.