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I don't visit any ICO sites except for stories on HN. Yet, the last few weeks, I've seen Facebook ads for "initial coin offering" of at least 3 different coins

I don't visit any ICO sites except for stories on HN. Yet, the last few weeks, I've seen Facebook ads for "initial coin offering" of at least 3 different coins. One was Paragon coin (something to do with weed), another had something to do with speech recognition in the blockchain, and a third one that I can't recall. All of these ads were trying to tout their celebrity credentials (Paragon coin was pushing one of its rapper investors, again, can't remember the name). This is a classic example of a bubble to me. "Celebrity" founders who wouldn't know the first things about the blockchain basically throwing together in-vogue terms ("weed!", "speech recognition!", "AI!") to get initial buyers, then cash out. We've hit peak ICO

sidthekid 9y ago
If we exclude all the silly buzzword-driven ICOs that have sprung up recently to take advantage of the hype, there are plenty of companies that are years old (started after the 2014 surge) and have decent working products. These companies have been waiting for a surge in cryptocurrency adoption and deserve the funding they are getting.
- TremendousJudge 9y ago
  The internet in the 90s was legit. Yet the Dotcom bubble still happened. There are some actual, successful internet businesses that survived it (Amazon, Paypal, Yahoo, the usual suspects). However, most startups crashed and burned and many people lot a lot of money. The fact that there are legitimate companies doesn't mean that most aren't bullshit
koolba 9y ago
All of that is true except the last line. It's not peak ICO until you see TV informercials. I expect it coming soon though.
gourou 9y ago
It's true lots of celebrities are behind crypto-currencies and are attaching their brand to them. The same can be said for superstar VC firms ( Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures...) and Filecoin. https://qz.com/1069515/paris-hilton-ico-the-hotel-heiress-joins-floyd-mayweather-the-game-and-other-celebs-endorsing-crypto-tokens/ https://qz.com/1069515/paris-hilton-ico-the-hotel-heiress-jo... https://www.coindesk.com/257-million-filecoin-breaks-time-record-ico-funding/ https://www.coindesk.com/257-million-filecoin-breaks-time-re... Also: > Paragon coin was pushing one of its rapper investors It's The Game
- nylonstrung 9y ago
  The best example is probably Ja Rule working at Fyre and Nas' VC fund which from what I hear is pretty much a paper company that generates PR. This isn't new- Bono's Elevation Partners has been around for a while

sidthekid 9y ago

If we exclude all the silly buzzword-driven ICOs that have sprung up recently to take advantage of the hype, there are plenty of companies that are years old (started after the 2014 surge) and have decent working products. These companies have been waiting for a surge in cryptocurrency adoption and deserve the funding they are getting.

TremendousJudge 9y ago
The internet in the 90s was legit. Yet the Dotcom bubble still happened. There are some actual, successful internet businesses that survived it (Amazon, Paypal, Yahoo, the usual suspects). However, most startups crashed and burned and many people lot a lot of money. The fact that there are legitimate companies doesn't mean that most aren't bullshit

koolba 9y ago

All of that is true except the last line. It's not peak ICO until you see TV informercials. I expect it coming soon though.

gourou 9y ago

It's true lots of celebrities are behind crypto-currencies and are attaching their brand to them. The same can be said for superstar VC firms ( Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures...) and Filecoin. https://qz.com/1069515/paris-hilton-ico-the-hotel-heiress-joins-floyd-mayweather-the-game-and-other-celebs-endorsing-crypto-tokens/ https://qz.com/1069515/paris-hilton-ico-the-hotel-heiress-jo... https://www.coindesk.com/257-million-filecoin-breaks-time-record-ico-funding/ https://www.coindesk.com/257-million-filecoin-breaks-time-re... Also: > Paragon coin was pushing one of its rapper investors It's The Game

nylonstrung 9y ago
The best example is probably Ja Rule working at Fyre and Nas' VC fund which from what I hear is pretty much a paper company that generates PR. This isn't new- Bono's Elevation Partners has been around for a while