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As the second quarter of 2019 gets underway on the heels of an impressive bitcoin and altcoin price rally, more and more eyes are turning back to the crypto markets after the longest bear market in the young industry’s history.
Whether the bear market is truly over and we have reached “full capitulation” remains to be seen, but it’s important to see what this second quarter of 2019 might have in store.
Let's take a look at three key trends that may set the stage for crypto this summer and beyond.
Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs)
The crypto world loves initialisms - ICOs, STOs, PoW, P2P. IEO - Initial Exchange Offering - is the latest, and has unquestionably been the new one for 2019.
In essence an IEO is an ICO, but launched exclusively via an exchange, and with the exchange’s vetting and backing. Furthermore, tokens are often only purchasable using the exchange’s native token.
This new model of token sale has garnered a lot of attention in the first quarter of 2019, and seen interest in the altcoin market pick up after a very dismal 2018. Several exchanges have launched their own IEO platform and new IEOs are being listed every week.
Many in the industry see IEOs as an improved model that will bring new funds into the market.
There are some significant benefits for investors when compared with the standard ICO model. Firstly when an exchange lists the token they can rest assured that substantial due diligence has gone into the project. Secondly it means that the tokens are tradable instantly, meaning that investors can buy and sell straight away, much like an IPO.
The project’s themselves also benefit as they can save time on marketing and technical expenses involved with issuing tokens directly, giving them more time to focus on the project itself.
It also makes sense for exchanges as they can attract new users and earn placement fees. It’s no wonder why the ICO model has been reimagined and has proven popular.
OKEx, who’s new IEO platform, JumpStart is gaining popularity explained how the IEO model is shaking things up in the altcoin scene. As part of this new model which aims to ensure greater scrutiny of the projects involved, OKEx has taken the novel step of asking users what they think can be improved about their existing rules for token sales: