International Briefings: ICO Financing For Startups

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) or token sales as alternative financing methods continue to generate increasing interest particular in Switzerland. Initial coin offerings conducted out of Switzerland between January and October 2017 raised between $550 and $650 million, which represents approximately one quarter of the volume of ICOs worldwide (including four of the 10 biggest ICOs so far). In our view, despite certain legal and regulatory challenges, ICOs have to be considered as a potentially attractive financing method, in particular for startups, as certain disadvantages of traditional financing methods may be avoided or mitigated.

Typical disadvantages of traditional financing methods