Understanding ICOs

A presentation by Brad Chandler, Director of the Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business, done for the Madison Blockchain meetup to give a preview of the upcoming Cryptocurrencies class at the Wisconsin School of Business. This talk covers the fundamentals of initial coin offerings (ICOs). The examination of ICOs includes a description of a typical ICO, a high level overview of the ICO market, a comparison of ICOs and IPOs, a description of the ICO process, pricing mechanics and regulatory considerations, ICO risks and returns, the prevalence of scams and an update on the latest academic research focused on ICOs.