I invested last year in two ICOs for the first time; Swissborg and Crypterium, and I'm sure like many of you have experienced, I saw my tokens drop in value when they hit the exchanges.
As the value of a utility token is partly due to its use (demand from users) and partly due to people's expectations of its future value (demand from speculators), I am wondering a few things:
1. Firstly, before the blockchain based product is complete, what should we see firms do post ICO to support the value of their tokens? I'm assuming continued press releases and marketing, but are there any key indicators or benchmarks potential ICO investors should take note of? (Disclosure: I ask for two reasons, one as a private investor and two as someone who works for a firm with a vested interest).
2. Secondly, what are people's views on reporting requirements to token holders? Are regular updates through blog posts, Facebook live videos and emails enough, or do you think the industry should move towards a more formal way of reporting?
3. Thirdly, there is a lot of importance attributed to business partnerships and prominent internal hires. Are these more important than general marketing activity?
As for the tokens I am holding on to them at least til they have viable products, though I've noticed that even with constant marketing their values have dropped, hence my questions above. I have analysed backlink numbers for successful ICOs and I saw how important they are, however they don't correlate well with how the token later performs on an exchange.
Thanks for any tips.
Andrew