Initial coin offerings : domicile as one of the key determinants for success : an empirical study of how regulations affect the success by studying the domicile of ICOs conducted in 2013 – October 2018

Abstract

The adoption of the Blockchain technology permits ventures to raise capital by conducting an Initial Coin Offering (ICO). This thesis assesses the determinants of successful ICOs and launches the domicile and its corresponding regulations as one of the key determinants for ICO success. To investigate the determinants, a logistic regression approach will be employed using a sample of 1,474 conducted ICOs in the period from 2013 to the end of October 2018. The main finding is that the domicile and its corresponding regulations of an ICO influences the success of ICOs. Disclosing the domicile prior to a token offering will positively affect the success. Domiciling in a positively regulated environment will also positively increase the probability of ICO success. Moreover, hosting ICOs in China or South Korea prior to the ICO bans or intentionally domiciling in an unregulated environment will not positively affect the probability of success. Furthermore, the findings display that publishing a white paper or having a team with previous Blockchain or ICO experience will not influence the probability of success. However, the length of a white paper, releasing the project source code on a public repository and having large teams are positively related to ICO success. In conclusion, the success of ICOs is dependent on several determinants, which collectively contribute to increase the transparency and reduce the information asymmetries associated with ICOs. The importance of domicile as one of the key determinants will contribute to the literature by extending the research conducted of determinants associated with ICO success and motivate to further research.