Section 4: ICOs Vs IPOs: What is the difference?

At the face value, ICOs and IPOs may sound familiar, especially in terms of their use for raising capital by companies, but they differ significantly in terms of their mechanics and regulatory frameworks.

IPOs are organized by established private companies that have proven track records. ICOs, on the other hand, are organized by startups to raise seed money, and in a majority of the cases, these startups don’t even have a ready product. They conduct ICOs based on their product idea and utility, described through whitepapers.

IPOs have to stick to strict regulatory guidelines and obtain regulatory approvals from different authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US. ICOs, on the contrary, are conducted on decen-tralized platforms and are not even restricted by international borders.

In terms of returns, IPOs offer dividends to their shareholders, whereas ICOs offer a promise of increased value in future. Several companies conducting ICOs allow tokens to be used for the purchase of their services. Some cryptocurrencies have received worldwide acceptance, and are now being used as in-app currencies.

ICO Guides: Introduction

Section 1: What is an ICO?

Section 2: How are ICOs created?

Section 3: History and evolution of ICOs

Section 4: ICOs Vs IPOs: What is the difference?

Section 5: How to participate in an ICO?

Section 6: Advantages of investing in ICOs

Section 7: What are the risks of investing in ICOs

Section 8: How to evaluate an ICO?

Section 9: How do you spot an ICO scam?

Section 10: How to trade ICOs

Section 11: What are the regulations in the ICO world?

Section 12: Should you invest in ICOs?

Section 13: How to set up your own ICO?

Section 14: What might be the future of ICOs?