Thinking out loud here... just to be prepared, if fund raising will go on as described:
Lets say there are max 500 active readers on this thread, 250 may eventually invest in fund raising. Lets limit our investment from 0.01 to max. 5 BTC if you are still compelled to invest. Those who invest 5 BTC are still making 500x investment. If this community can agree to this, this will limit the X factor within an acceptable range and puts Eth in its rightful place, with no proven product and no indication of long term commitment.
There were 1200 people in Miami conference, max 600 may invest. So my guess is maybe with limited media exposure, max a final total of 1000 people will invest in the 2 month period. We can do our part to make sure funds total will not go beyond 1000 btc.
If after all this criticism and no answers to the legit questions raised on this thread, you still feel compelled to invest: Limit your investment to less than 5 btc, preferably less than 1 and buy whatever you want later from the miners. That seems to be the most logical thing to do. Eth is not going anywhere and it will not become the world's dominant cryptocurrency overnight. I think the price will very likely drop when mining begins because miners prefer to exchange Eth with the proven BTC that holds value.
My prediction: the IPO will sell out within a week. Flame me all you want...just come back here February 8 so I can gloat.
Do you people have any idea how many whales are out there, already enriched beyond their wildest dreams by bitcoin's meteoric rise, willing to throw a few "pennies" (thousands of btc) at a worthy project? There are probably teenagers out there who got lucky with $100 three years ago, buying btc for pennies, who would think nothing of throwing a few thousand this way.
FWIW, I'm putting in the vast majority of my admittedly small bitcoin savings--because just a chance to be part of the next Apple, or Microsoft, or Java, or Google is enough for me.