Wed, Jul 22, 2026
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Alternative Market Briefing

ICO tokens lost 54% of $24bn value: BitMEX Research

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia:

The value of initial coin offering (ICO) tokens has reduced by 54% from starting figure of $24bn, said a latest research by cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX.

At peak valuation, these token allocations were valued at over $80bn. However, BitMEX Research notes that "in reality, liquidity was too low for this value to be realized." Furthermore, due to the tokens' precipitous drop in market value, these allocations are currently worth $5bn.

BitMEX cited the 2018 crypto bear market as one of the main reasons, along with $1.5bn worth of transfers to external addresses.

It explains: "Based on current illiquid spot prices, the ICO teams still appear to own around $5bn of their own tokens, money they essentially got from nothing, depending on ones view. At the same time the teams may have realized gains of $1.5bn by selling tokens, based on coins leaving team address clusters."

In conclusion, BitMEX Research estimates that ICO teams have profited nearly $13bn from their ICO process "with very little work, accountability or transparency," adding that while ICOs have proven to be "extremely attractive" for project founders, the results for investors "have not been as attractive."

BitMEX has conducted a research of the ICO market in collaboration with analytics firm TokenAnalyst, looking into treasury balances of more than a hundred projects on the Ethereum (ETH) network.

BitMEX previously reported that 12 ICO projects each of which h......................

To view our full article Click here

Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. Other Voices: Nvidia extraordinary growth and the challenge of sustaining demanding valuations over time[more]

    Antonio Di Giacomo, Senior Market Analyst at XS.com, writes: Nvidia has established itself as one of the most extraordinary growth companies in the global technology sector. Over the past two fiscal years, its revenues have risen from levels close to $60 billion annually to well above $120 billi

  2. Secondaries take center stage: What the 2026 PE landscape means for GPs and investors[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The 2026 edition of Dechert's Global Private Equity Outlook - "Signs of a Gradual Thaw" - marks a notable shift in industry sentiment. After years of compr

  3. And, finally: Time to share it with the people[more]

    From Newsoftheweird: Leavenworth, Washington, has become a tourist destination because of the Bavarian theme businesses have adopted there, NPR reported. One shop, the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, houses the world's largest nutcracker collection, thanks to 101-year-old Arlene Wagner. Wagner sta

  4. Opalesque Exclusive: Private Markets Evergreen Funds - An Insider's View[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: Private Markets Evergreen Funds: What Investors Need to Know Before They Dive In The democratization of private markets is well underway. Structural barriers t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: Governance, Scale, and Boutique Resilience in a Consolidating Hedge Fund Industry[more]

    Matthias Knab, Opalesque for New Managers: The hedge fund industry has undergone significant consolidation in recent years, with capital increasingly concentrated among large multi-strategy platforms. Yet boutique m