Abstract
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have established themselves since 2017 as an attractive alternative for financing innovative companies. However, these new modes of financing from the world of blockchain technology have a very volatile return on investment (ROI) in the short term, and very ambivalent in the medium and long term: 90% of ICOs issued since 2017 have failed. This article attempts to shed some light on the question of the ROI of ICOs. The analysis of some databases of the most significant platforms for ICOs reveals that the highest ROIs reached on average 3100% at their peak and 30% on average over the period 2017-2022. The results of the analysis suggest that given the level of risk of ICOs, they do not represent a good financial asset over a long period; on the other hand, they would be a good lever for speculation and possibly a good financial strategy to boost the financial performance of a diversified portfolio.
Keywords: Initial coin offering; Return on investment; Blockchain; Financial regulation; financial risk
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