[Translation] The crazy world of cryptocurrencies and ICOs

Until around the end of last year, ICO popularity was relatively quiet, but recently both organizers and participants seem to be getting even more heated; however, there are voices of alarm as well, noting a rise in “event organizers who seem to be raising funds in a somewhat arbitrary way” and “participants riding on momentum without proper due diligence.”

As I’ve written somewhere else, personally I doubt I’ll encounter as many “home run projects” as last year, but the concept of ICOs is a wonderful one, so if you’ve stepped into the world of cryptocurrencies, it’s worth experiencing at least once.

Now, this time I found an article that fairly thoroughly discusses the current state of ICOs, so I decided to translate it into Japanese.

Let’s read. It’s a little longer than usual.

The Crazy World of Cryptocurrencies and ICOs

Yesterday I boarded a plane and was surfing the net. I was flipping through Facebook apps, Twitter, bank accounts, and BBC News. Then, suddenly, I came across an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) for a new bank. According to Wikipedia…

“(An Initial Coin Offering is a means of issuing new cryptocurrency and crowdfunding. Generally, tokens that would replace the new cryptocurrency are sold, and funds are raised before the release of the cryptocurrency to carry out technical development. Unlike a traditional initial public offering (IPO), owning the token does not grant ownership in the company developing the new cryptocurrency. And unlike an IPO, ICOs have little to no government regulation.)”

Also,

“The first ICO was conducted by Mastercoin in 2013. Ethereum raised funds through an ICO in 2014. ICOs are very popular now. As of March 2017, there were about 20 ICOs per month, and the ICO for the new web browser Brave raised about $30 million in under 30 seconds. At least 18 websites compile ICO information.”

That’s what it says.

I found the ICO for that new bank extremely interesting. The bank would use cutting-edge, trendy technologies and guarantee a 50% bonus on my investment at launch. I would love to participate.

I immediately logged into Kraken to transfer 100 ETH to complete the deal. Just as I was about to press the send button, I paused and took a breath.

This sequence of events began when I saw the new bank’s ICO advertisement on Facebook. The only thing I know about that bank is what’s in that ad. A surge of desire arose in me, and I thought, if I send them 100 ETH today, I would get 50 ETH back. Depending on the day or week, 50 ETH is worth about $16,000. It would be a fantastic profit in just a few weeks. But think for a moment: I know nothing about them.

Who is behind this bank? What kind of credibility do they have? If I send the money, will it really come back? If I send it…

With the ICO craze, the prices of BTC (Bitcoin) and ETH rose, bringing true madness into today’s cryptocurrency world. Someone might say at some point,

“Please stop the world. I’m getting off. Everything is collapsing.”

In fact, this collapse began last week, and the prices of BTC and ETH fell by 25% in just one week.

Similarly, many ICO offers are scams. Not all of them. For example, Bancor is one I personally invested in. However, Monaco’s ICO looks questionable. In fact, there are so many ICOs that it has become a meme on Quora.