Initial Exchange Offering, or IEO as it is mostly known as, is a popular method of fundraising for blockchain projects. The difference with the other well-known ICO method is that with IEOs, the actual fundraising is conducted by an exchange platform such as Binance. The exchange platform sells tokens to individual users that pay directly from their exchange wallets.
The first IEO was conducted by Binance in December 2017 and finished with a huge success – $30 million raised on the first day. Despite the huge accomplishment back then, crowdfunding for cryptocurrency projects in 2019 is not going very well when compared to 2017.
This year we see a definitive increase in popularity for IEOs that resembles the boom of 2017. This is due to the fact that selling a token via an exchange platform is making it far easier for individual users to participate and get a piece of the pie.
Of course, if a popular exchange is supporting a project you can be more confident in its success as exchanges have a strict evaluation method for any projects that will initiate an IEO. All this makes for a safer investment option with lesser risk than normal ICOs.
IEOs introduce a great funding alternative for every young blockchain project. However, in order to qualify for that valuable exchange platform support you need to consider the following important points:
This is a vital point for every new business. If the investors see no apparent route to success and can’t identify a suitable market fit, they will not want to risk their precious crypto. This is the main point of your business strategy and you should spend as much resources as necessary on it.
Most of the successful IEOs already have a functional and pleasantly designed app before applying for crowdfunding. Essentially, this is a huge positive step however, not all of them are that far in their development process. What is certain is that, you must have at least some evident development work before contacting an exchange platform.
No exchange will support a product that is not popular among the users. This is why you need to generate significant public interest and eventually build an involved community. The more users are interested in your product, the more appealing it looks to exchanges.
This step is also vital for every business sector. Nobody believes verbal promises. Everything needs to be well documented via whitepapers, technical documentation and economic analysis.
Nowadays, strong social media presence and PR is essential for global success. Writing crypto-related publications is a very good method for attracting attention and improving your public presence.
Having a utility token is the only way to hold an IEO at the moment. Big exchanges still do not support trading of security tokens as they are more legally complicated.
Big exchanges will never support a project backed by an under-qualified team. You need to gather a team of experienced developers to look trustworthy. A big plus is attracting popular advisers for your cause.
So when you approach an exchange with your cryptocurrency project, following the steps above will definitely increase your chances of being chosen for the next IEO.