Financial Quotient

What is initial coin offering?

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Initial coin offering (ICO) is an innovative fund-raising method used by start-ups to raise money at an early stage of a company's life cycle.

The ICO issuer publishes a white paper describing the developing product or service. It then sells coins or tokens that allow investors future access to this product or service.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on June 10, 2018, with the headline What is initial coin offering?. Subscribe