So You Want to Launch an Initial Coin Offering?

Everyone seems to be talking about it. But as a marketer, do you really get what all the fuss is with this new and burgeoning currency exchange called cryptocurrency? And just when you thought you knew how to support an IPO, how do you manage an ICO (Initial Coin Offering)? This game-changing monetary system is making inroads at lightning speed and is opening up new opportunities for selling a product or financing an idea.

Cryptocurrency made global headlines recently when it cracked into the top 30 most traded currencies in the world with a $600 billion market valuation … more than the value of Korea’s currency. So what’s it all about?

Cryptocurrency, which exists solely in the digital world, is a money system that uses an open and shared database of transactions, called blockchain, in a decentralized network format to track and record the transactions. It allows users to transfer and add value anonymously, most often through coin exchanges, without security compromises. And it’s experiencing phenomenal growth, more than 3,300% just this year alone.

Cryptocurrency momentum is forcing adoption. So how does a marketer add value to their clients, helping them figure out ways to best attract investors and to leverage this new, barely tested currency? (There’s a lot of imposters and all sorts of legal nuances to navigate, you know.)

You can already accept payments via services like Stripe, which makes upgrading a company website a no-brainer. Many corporations have already begun accepting crypto investments, including household names like Microsoft, Virgin Galactic, Shopify, and Tesla. And helping your startup clients fund their ventures is picking up pace with cryptocurrency through the use of an ICO instead of a more traditional IPO.

Here are four tips any company considering going this route need to keep in mind:

What Are You Offering? Who is launching this ICO and how will your coin offering work? How you will you use the funds raised, manage the compliance and governance, and how will the outcome and returns will be managed?

Who Is Involved? Potential investors want to understand the level of business acumen and experience coming from the people leading the company. (And having a strong Advisory Team with known industry professionals is a must have.)

How Will You Tell People About It? Cryptocurrency investors are swarming on Twitter, engaged on LinkedIn, connected on Facebook company pages, but also diving deep into conversations on value across Reddit, Slack and Telegram.

Where Can They Learn More? In this nontraditional website, which should be focused on the coin offering itself and can be closed after the event, or converted to an investor portal, you should provide potential investors with all the essential information at hand, the timing of the ICO, and provide a clear pathway to invest (popular crowdfunding site’s like Indiegogo are now hosting ICOs).