Over the period from January to May 2018, ICO raised a total of $ 11.8 billion, which is twice as high as the same period a year earlier ($ 5.5 billion), according to the Wall Street Journal, based on the data from the ICOBench.com platform about 900 transactions.
The ICO market continues to grow, despite tightening regulation, including from the SEC, as well as regular reports of fraudulent transactions and a general fall in the prices of crypto-currencies.
These problems discourage some retail investors, but large investors focused on the technology sector continue to pour money into the ICO in the hope that this market will eventually go uphill.
Among the largest ICO this year is the placement of the Telegram Group tokens, the developer of the messenger of the same name, with a volume of $ 1.7 billion, as well as the startup block.one, a platform for implementing block-based business solutions, with a volume of $ 4 billion.
However, even without these two ICOs, the total volume of token placement in the first half of 2018 is higher than for the entire 2017 year. According to the WSJ, 490 startups successfully conducted ICO in January-May 2017, the average amount of funds raised was $ 24 million.
According to a study by the international consulting and auditing company PwC and the Crypto Valley association, 537 ICO projects were held from January to June 2018, totaling $ 13.7 billion. During this period, Telegram ($ 1.7 billion) and EOS ( $ 4.1 billion).
Last year, 552 teams came on the ICO, which received $ 7 billion. If you subtract the two highest-grossing projects from the first five months of 2018, the amount of funds raised during this period will be $ 8 billion.
Researchers noted that the primary location of the tokens is again rapidly gaining momentum with the help of hybrid campaigns that allow publicly to raise funds after the received financing. First they collect from $ 100 thousand to $ 1 million from venture investors, then open to the general public.
"After the excitement of 2017, the ICO sector has become more established and definite. Now more attention is paid to improving business and legal practices, investor relations and attracting financing, "said Daniel Dimers, head of PwC Strategy.
Since the beginning of the year, there have been more projects in the UK for the primary placement of tokens than in the United States. Approximately the same number of Swiss crypto-enthusiasts. A rating of ten countries is closed by Israel and Hong Kong.