ICO Fundraising Is Rising Even With Crypto Market Downturn
One of the riskiest corners of the cryptocurrency market is shrugging off this year’s price slump.
Startups have raised about $450 million in initial coin offerings so far this month, the most since October, according to Coinist, which compiles cryptocurrency market data. ICOs brought in $3.8 billion in 2017, beating venture capital funding.
No Slump in ICO Market
Startups are raising the most money in initial coin offerings since October.
ICOs are starting 2018 on a high note even as Bitcoin slumped as much as 53 percent from its $19,511 high in December, and the broader sector lost about $280 billion in market capitalization. The downturn has been blamed on everything from the prospects of more regulation, to the unwinding of hedges, to even the lunar new year.
While cryptocurrency prices react quickly to headlines, fundraising through ICOs is a slower process. Most of the sales that have closed in the past couple of weeks likely began months ago.
