ICO Funds Pass VC Funding, Filecoin Adds More
A recent report from CNBC has indicated that the amount of funds raised by ICOs had passed the total early stage VC funding for internet companies.
In July alone, ICOs raised just over $300 mln, while the total for VC and early angel funding was just over $200 mln.
According to ICOBox, the ICO startup platform, more than $1.3 bln has been raised via ICOs.
#ICO market is undergoing explosive growth: since the start of 2017 companies developing various #blockchain projects raised $1.366 billion.
— ICObox (@icobox_io) August 11, 2017The explosive growth through 2017 has pushed ICOs past the traditional VC funding as the best way for nascent IT companies to raise funds, and the numbers prove it.
The recent news that Filecoin has had to pause its ICO because of the massive influx of funding ($252 mln after an initial $52 mln from SV investors) shows that the ICO craze is nowhere near over.
The newest figure form Filecoin has set a record as the largest ICO to date.
In spite of SEC
The huge ICO earnings, especially with Filecoin, have come in spite of the recent SEC rulings indicating that ICOs must, usually, be registered in the US as securities.
While this should have dampened the mood, it seems that ICOs are still moving ahead, with the Filecoin offering indicating the public sentiment toward Blockchain, and the systems that can be built on it.
Ironically, Filecoin is just one of a number of Blockchain technology-based storage systems, with a substantial amount of competition in the marketplace.
CryptoInsider pointed out the competition issues via Twitter:
#Filecoin goes beyond 200m USD #ICO in 1 hour. https://t.co/nnhrZXQP6h #siacoin #Storj #maidsafe big competition in the data storage market. pic.twitter.com/puQ8srjFVG
— crypto-insider (@crypto_insider1) August 12, 2017Many of the companies in the storage world have already completed ICOs, including Storj and MaidSafe. The substantial competition in the marketplace may mean that the massive market valuation of Filecoin is not justified.