Bitcoin Forum

Hello Guys,

I am looking into several ICOs and I was wandering if they can simply take my bitcoins or eth, issue my tokens, then simply cashout and leave me in the dry?
Is there some protection that ensures my token should be at least tradable before they cashout?

thanks,
Rado

they can take your Btc or ETH and leave you in the dry if you are joining scam ICOs,
that is why we heard a lot of people complained about ICOs,beause something like that happened not only once but many times.
protection for the ICOs investor ? no,there're no system that can guarantee you about it.
that is why before joining the ICOs you need to spend a lot of time to do the research not to do the calculation,
most people will try to help you out by open up a thread in 'Scam Accusation' board to tell others about scam ICOs.
spend some of your time to go that board and you will see someone investigating something and some projects.

because of that,a lot of countries issuing to ban the ICOs,lack of protection for the investors.
but only Chinese and Korean banning it for now.
Korean banning local ICOs.
Chinese banning all ICOs.

Yes, I'm pretty sure they can. I don't think there's a sort of contract or agreement whereas they can't just run away with the offerings. Like just what DaMut said, this is probably the main reason China and South Korea banned ICOs, and that's to prevent their people from getting scammed. This is a perfect reason that you do extensive research before getting in on an ICO.

You have no protection whatsoever when it comes to ICOs. Any person with an internet connection can "create" them and they can also disappear. I've seen many times where scam ICOs use all sorts of tricks to fool investors into thinking their money is safe, but it can be already spent by the time you try to cash out. Even if it is a legitimate ICO (if they exist) then the value will collapse to near zero at some point, because there is little need for alternatives to bitcoin right now.

This is why countries are starting to ban ICOs left and right.

You can can get scammed in ICOS and not give back the promised token but some just went delayed or worst case scenario don't actually give you the token.

You can’t trade your ICO tokens before you receive the tokens. Unless you found a willing buyer who agree to buy your token when it is released. You can try posting in marketplace.

Yep!

They most certainly can do that. They can do whatever they want.

ICOs are f*cking mess right now. You should stay as far away as possible. I realize you regret not getting in on Bitcoin back in 2010, but but you can't just recreate that opportunity. You have to wait for the next 'get in early' opportunity comes up with something else. If you want to make money in cryptocurrency, stick to the major 5 - Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Monero.

I was also investigating the possibility to lose all your investment in an ICO. I thought that some valid issues to protect yourself should be taken BEFORE buying an ICO tokens. Would you agree on the following?

- Read the whitepaper and all material and try to figure out if the proposed "venture" is solid, has a valid business proposition, create real value and has future potential ? Does it stand on its own legs from the business point of view ? would you buy that product and use it yourself or do you think there is a market for it?
- Is there a real registered company, with a legal address and possibly a physical office ? Is there a team ? can you contact them ? Do they answer ?
- Do they have a real existing product or do they have just an idea ? Do they need the money to develop the business/product from scratch or do they already have something concrete that you can test ?
- Do they already have customers ?

In my experience a Q&A based on above items would be a good filter to reduce the possibility to get scammed or anyway to potentially lose all the invested money.
Does it make sense ?
THX

yes that is why you only  invest spare money who can afford to lose .Think of a ICO as a game of roulette .You bet small and hope to win big  ;D

if you choose the wrong and scam ICO's they can simply take away your eth or bitcoin and leaves you in the dry, theres no other way to trade your ICO's tokens youve got if its not listed on the exchange site yet, but if its has/had listed, you can sell your token on the exchange. and theres no protection or retrieval to ensure your token to at least tradable before they cash out. you totally got scam if that happens.

Thank you all.

From what you are saying I even think that regardless of how the white paper, idea, venture looks it could all be just sweet words.
The risk of buying token that is worth zero is OK. That is valid with all securities. My main concern is that one can buy an untraceable token (not listed) and that these guys can just take the money and go to the Seychelles.

The risk of a bad investment is on you, but there should be some regulations and protection agains pure fraud and theft.

Once again, thank you all.