How Crypto Exchanges use users’ personal information. And what exactly government interests.

Legal treatment of crypto exchanges varies greatly from country to country. A number of states officially allow cryptocurrency transactions.

In accordance with the international recommendations of the FATF. Operators of virtual asset services. Including crypto-exchanges, should collect data on participants of cryptocurrency transactions.

What Crypto Exchanges must do.

They are required to conduct a rigorous check on their users – both individuals and businesses. Crypto exchanges cannot disclose this data without a valid reason, for example in USA. In USA, 4th amendment to Constitution prohibits illegal searches and seizures of data. In order for a crypto exchange to release personal data, there must be a court order. A mere request from law enforcement will not be enough.

Monitoring activities of users of various crypto-platforms takes place worldwide as well. State authorities most often request information on what kind of cryptocurrency the user owns. And how often he or she makes transactions. In addition, the source of funds may be of interest.

Crypto exchanges monitor suspicious trades.

Legislative requirements for suspicious trades have been in place for a long time. Crypto exchanges are required to report suspicious trades. And provide detailed reports on transactions over $10,000. And also to keep information about money transfers. But this obligation is so far only relevant in those countries. That have allowed cryptocurrency exchange at the legislative level.

If an exchange gathers evidence of illegal activity. It will be required to notify law enforcement. Most often, crypto exchanges simply block suspicious accounts. Or they restrict any transactions other than transfers to a local wallet.

Users cannot find out if their personal data has been provided to a third party. But such information can appear, as in the case of Coinbase. Coinbase sell crypto user geo-location data to U.S. ICE immigrations and customs agency.

Our experts say that cryptocurrency platforms themselves use personal data to ensure legal procedures. And compliance with all requirements.

Who is monitoring you and what do they want to know?

It is almost any worldwide country that has legally binding methods for analyzing centralized user data.

They are interested in what coins you have. And how often you trade them. As well as where your funds used to buy cryptocurrencies come from. And they also track where coins are sent when they leave centralized exchanges. If you’re storing coins in an offline wallet. There’s a good chance that. One or even more governments will find out about that wallet address. Regardless of where you move the coins that have ever been in a centralized exchange, they can track you.

How to avoid being watched?

In answer to the question of how to avoid government control. We can say this: DEX exchanges and confidential coins are really only answer we know. If you use centralized services, you take a risk.

Conclusions:

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you. Always check website to which you are providing your personal information. Don’t give your personal information to everyone who asks for it. Use one or two exchange at most where you will disclose your personal information. In principle, there is no notification mode, so you won’t know that your data has been disclosed. Our experts believe that disclosure of personal data in crypto-industry is possible only in extreme cases.

Hidden mining threat (CryptoJacking) reached a record level in first half of 2022: number of detected attacks raised to 66.7 million, 30% more than in first six months of 2021

Hidden mining or CryptoJacking is a cybercrime. It involves unauthorized use of devices (computers, smartphones, tablets or servers) by hackers to mine cryptocurrency. Hidden mining is often done through security exploits in mobile apps. As well as web browsers and goes unnoticed by victims.

Cyber security company SonicWall recorded 45.1 million attacks in the first quarter. This is their highest number in their history of monitoring. However, in Q2 there were half as many cases – 21.6 million. According to a study, falling prices for cryptocurrencies may be a reason for this. According to experts’ forecast, the “summer recession of CryptoJacking” will continue in Q3 of this year. But attacks will peak again in Q4.

What drives growth of hidden mining and why it is dangerous

Two factors are responsible for general growth in the number of hidden mining incidents. First factor is a critical vulnerability in the Log4j Java library. It was found in 2021. It allows hackers to gain unauthorized access to hundreds of users’ apps remotely around world. In addition, Hidden Mining is an attack with less risk for scammers. Than extortion, because victims of scammers often do not know that their computers or networks are being used. As a result, cybercriminals have less chance of being detected. Normal users see their devices running slower. But it’s hard to connect this to criminal activity.

At least one extortion group has already publicly announced its intentions to switch to hidden mining. And if they do, it won’t be the first time cryptojacking has replaced extortion software.

The number of attacks on government, health care, and education sectors decreased by 78%, 87%, and 96%, respectively. However, cases of hidden mining in financial industry increased by 269%, and in retail by 63%.

Earlier, FBI reported that American investors who used fake crypto-applications and sites lost at least $42.7 million. According to FBI, 244 people were victims of fraudsters who create copies of web pages and mobile wallets of famous companies.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn you to be careful when visiting unknown sites. Or when installing applications on your devices. Hidden mining is a real risk that you could lose your money.

Startups related to metaworlds and WEB3 continue to attract huge funds for their development. What awaits cryptocommunity with arrival of new technologies, and what latest developments of this industry are focused on

Last few weeks bring news about new venture capital funds in cryptocurrency sector. NFT platform Immutable launched a $500 million venture fund, Multicoin Capital is investing $430 million in crypto startups, and Binance has raised more than $500 million to launch its venture fund. While some analysts talk about the onset of crypto winter, WEB3 projects are gaining popularity.

A lot of new projects will use new tokens within their ecosystems. The easiest and most budget-friendly way to provide new tokens with liquidity. This is to create liquidity pools on DeFi platforms paired with existing assets.

This will lead to an increase in DeFi sector funds currently being used in smart contracts on a particular platform or across the market as a whole (total value locked; TVL). The imminent potential increase in TVL due to the arrival of traditional financial products in DeFi has been discussed by many sector analysts in their reviews.

Initial liquidity for new pairs will be provided by funds from developers’ funds. Then, the rest of the users who want the tokens of the new projects will join the liquidity supply. Participation in the new pools will in many cases involve swaps (temporary exchanges) of users’ existing tokens on the platforms in order to obtain tokens of the desired pair. Thus, the emergence of even one new popular pair will inevitably lead to the popularization of other platform pairs as well.

Possible arrival of Killer App

Increased funds for developing new solutions for this sector will lead to an influx of new specialists. Ideas of which may turn out to be breakthrough ones. Despite almost a decade of history. All cryptoprojects have not yet been able to create Killer App, coveted and expected by many. It is an app that would demonstrate the undeniable convenience of new technological solutions for the entire population of world. Which would lead to an acceleration of blockchain expansion.

New venture capitalists rate the emergence of such an app as the most likely to happen in the area of gaming projects. A large number of P2E and x-2-earn developments are among them. X-2-earn involves replacing  “X” in a phrase with any other action in order to obtain rewards. For example, such an action can even be useful to the planet collecting and recycling garbage.

Everyone has been waiting for Killer App since BTC appeared in 2014. A combination of many conditions is necessary for the emergence of Killer App. Thus, the number of attempts to develop different apps is important for the sector. To increase probability of combining all conditions to achieve desired effect.

From histories of companies that develop computer games. We know that despite technical similarities of many products. Only a few of these games became really popular. Their success was due to a combination of many factors necessary for popularity as well as good marketing.

New earning opportunities and popularity of WEB3 projects

The attraction of users to new projects will, to some extent, take place through Giveaways and Airdrop. In this way, users will be able to earn a small amount of money without investing their own money.

Tracking promising projects at an early stage. It helps to notice in time a message about token allocation or NFT. You can get a valuable digital asset for the simplest actions. It is using bridge between networks, swapping on DEX or providing liquidity in a new pair.

The increase in the number of projects under development will also affect the labor market. New projects will be in demand from designers, UI and UX specialists. As well as copywriters, SMM-managers, analysts and developers who will be interested in further development in blockchain technology.

Decentralized transactions allow buyers and sellers to set their own terms for cryptocurrency transactions. Main benefits and disadvantages of P2P

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is direct trade of users with each other without an exchange as an agent. When working on a traditional crypto exchange, platform organizes transaction on behalf of client. And market price determines the exact price of asset at moment of transaction. P2P trading implies a transaction directly between users on terms they choose.

However, such transactions carry certain risks due to lack of a third party. Large platforms provide some protection for the parties to transactions by offering escrow accounts, feedback systems and user ratings. When making P2P transactions outside of a crypto platform, risks of coming across scammers increase a lot.

How P2P works

A P2P platform is a meeting place for buyers and sellers. Allowing them to conclude a deal on favorable terms for both parties. A user publishes an ad on a platform, specifying specific terms for buying or selling cryptocurrency. These are terms such as price, payment methods and limits.

Second party browses listings and, after selecting optimal conditions, places an order to conduct a transaction with a specific seller. Platforms offer a variety of filters for searching. You can select merchants by their location, payment methods, rating, and even view only those who are fully verified. Most platforms offer information on specific sellers: how many orders they executed, customer reviews, and trade volumes.

Exchange is a guarantor of transaction transparency and honesty. Also platform resolves disputes between its participants. Many exchanges offer escrow for transaction time. Escrow accounts are used: assets are held on them until a buyer makes a payment.

Verification is not always required to work on P2P platforms. Some services do not require personal information. And somewhere they only ask for a phone number or e-mail address. But there are also platforms that require full KYC verification and Google Authenticator. Sometimes services ask for additional information to increase trading limits. But mostly they allow trading cryptocurrencies without disclosing a lot of personal information.

Also, to attract new users, cryptoplatforms offer referral programs. Client receives a percentage of exchange commission from each transaction of their invited users. Opportunities for market participants to buy cryptocurrency on P2P exchanges are constantly expanding.

Benefits of P2P

• When trading on P2P exchanges, many more payment methods are available compared to traditional platforms. Payment methods include bank transfers, cash, using e-wallets, PayPal, gift cards, SWIFT transfers, Western Union and others.
• P2P platforms in most cases allow traders to connect to a service and conduct transactions with zero fees. Not all P2P exchanges offer such service. That’s why it’s a strong point to review terms and conditions of your chosen marketplace. Some exchanges impose a small commission for placing an ad or % of transaction amount.
• Transaction protection with an escrow service blocks funds until parties comply with transaction terms. If either party fails to do so, cryptocurrency or fiat funds are returned.
• You don’t have to have a bank account to buy cryptocurrency on a P2P exchange. Most platforms require only Internet access and a phone.

Disadvantages of P2P

• Although P2P transactions are fast enough, one party may delay the transaction for a variety of reasons. Also, buyer or seller may change his or her mind and cancel transaction while processing transaction. A normal transaction can take anywhere from 10 min to several days (depending on chosen payment method).
• Liquidity on P2P platforms is lower than on CEX exchanges. Therefore, traders making large transactions usually prefer to work on a standard exchange or over-the-counter trading. When platforms provide options to buy and sell cryptocurrency from an administrator or broker (OTC).

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts warn that as with many other cryptocurrency transactions. When you trade on P2P-platform there is a high risk of entering into a deal with a scammer. To prevent meeting with a scammer, you should choose a solid platform for transactions and carefully read statistics of partners. Or choose large CEX exchanges for P2P trading: Binance, OKX, etc.

Why and how do developers burn their tokens, and what benefit do investors get?

Cryptocurrency burn is an intentional destruction of a certain number of tokens in circulation. Many cryptocurrency projects use this mechanism to regulate issuance. Tokens can be destroyed for several reasons: for example, in order to increase token prices. Burning some coins makes each remaining token more in demand and its price goes up.

Cryptocurrencies are also withdrawn from circulation to prevent inflation and depreciation of assets. With unlimited issuance, the amount of coins is constantly increasing, and each individual token gradually depreciates in price. Then developers conduct incineration to prevent fall of cryptocurrency’s price. Thus, there is always about the same amount of cryptocurrency in circulation. Volumes and frequency of this operation depend on the speed of issuance.

Some projects destroy coins after ICO if not the entire amount of cryptocurrency was sold during campaign. In this case, developers retain price of coins already purchased by investors.

How to burn cryptocurrencies

Commission Burn

Transaction fees are usually sent to miners. But there are cryptocurrency projects in which these funds are burned. To do this, a transaction is conducted in which fees are set at an amount required to be burned. Sent tokens remain in blockchain, and excess funds are “burned” by this system.

Contract algorithm burns tokens

Sometimes developers initially put a Proof-of-Burn algorithm on blockchain. When a transaction takes place, miners send some of coins to a special address that no one else has access to. This transaction is recorded in blockchain, which is proof-of-burn for tokens.

Burning in a dead wallet

A lot of projects use burn through a wallet with no private keys. Amounts that need to be destroyed are sent to it. There is no access to such a wallet. Therefore, any interaction with tokens at such an address is unavailable. Projects openly publish data on such wallets and burn operations.

Consider large Cryptoprojects that burn their tokens

Ethereum

In August 2021, ETH ecosystem updated and changed its fee structure. Transaction fees in a block (for gas) began to be sent partly to network for burning and partly to miners as rewards. Today, major Ethereum “burners” are NFT-marketplace Opensea and crypto-platform Uniswap. Volume of token destruction is about 900,000 ETH per year.

Binance Coin

In 2017, Binance issued 20 million BNB and announced plans to burn tokens quarterly and will do so until half of their tokens are destroyed. From end of 2021, amount of tokens to be burned is calculated automatically and depends on the number of transactions on exchange.

Binance also destroys a portion of the BNB Chain gas fee in real time. Exchange practices burning by transferring money to an address that is not available for use.

Tron

Project developers use the same token destruction method. Total number of TRX tokens burned is approaching 8 billion.

Ripple

Cryptocurrency’s algorithm has had a token burning mechanism from the very beginning. Each transaction destroys 0.00001 XRP. The concept of the project implies a certain number of coins. Which should not increase, which, according to developers’ idea, will allow avoiding inflation. At the same time, this algorithm reduces numbers of spam transactions.

Many different cryptocurrency projects like Shiba Inu, Stellar, BabyDoge, Elastos, Optimism and others are actively practicing coin flaring to attract investors’ attention.

Who benefits from token burning and what investors get from it

By burning coins, developers buy them back with their own money, or somehow sacrifice part of their profits. However, still remaining holders of this cryptocurrency, they are betting that asset will grow in value in future. Coin destruction is done to make cryptoprojects more successful and attract more holders.

Burning tokens can be compared to buying back shares in a normal financial market. Companies buy back their securities in order to reduce their number on market and strengthen their quotes. This strengthens position of shareholders and company.

At the same time, burning coins can strengthen reputation of a crypto project. Destruction of tokens left unsold after the initial offering. Increases the level of trust in developers and contributes to the growth of the token price on the crypto market.

Investors also benefit when a project burns unsold tokens after an ICO. Using this type of tool shows that developers believe in their project and that their cryptocurrency will grow in the long run.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts believe that burning coins does not guarantee an increase or stabilization of price. If project is not in demand, reducing the number of tokens will not affect its price in any way. Also, one should not rule out effects of general market conditions. In periods of increased uncertainty, destruction of a cryptocurrency may not have desired effect.

Blockchain entertainment is not only fun, but also profitable. What options does play-to-earn open, and what are the prospects for the development of industry GameFi ?

GameFi are blockchain projects that allow profits for gaming experience: users earn profits for participating in game. All player items and rights become their property: characters, land, artifacts, clothing, and more.

Project developers choose the cryptocurrency for payments within the project. However, more often than not, each platform creates its own token. Some projects may require a small investment to start gaming activity, but mostly you just have to play.

There are other options for earning money at GameFi. NFT items can be sold. The price of game items will be higher the more popular a game is. You can also rent your virtual property. Or participate in tournaments or bet on the results of competitions. In some projects, you can put your earned coins in stacking.

Basic earning rules and how GameFi works

The main principle of earning in this industry is Play-to-Earn. Players are paid for what they play, which is either hours spent in the app or specific useful in-game actions. All schemes come down to a developer paying users to use their app. In this case, for the use of a project game. Depending on mechanics of these games, there may be slightly different ways of investing in such projects.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts gave Axie Infinity as an example. In which to “multiply NFT characters” players need to spend in-game currency SLP. If player numbers continue to increase, it might be enough to buy such a token, in the hope that increased demand will drive up prices.

More critical investors can take part in gameplay. Then their earnings will come from the sale of game currency and newly obtained “characters”. There are many such games, but their principles are similar.

A recent trend on STEPN showed that projects actually create very different ‘something-to-Earn’ mechanics: run, jump, play, breathe and even have sex. But each project is unique in some way, and you have to study its history and perspective individually.

In some projects it is enough to buy control tokens. And somewhere the game will involve the investor in internal processes. For ordinary players everything is simple – they exchange their time for the developers’ money. One only needs to assess the risks if entering the game requires an initial investment to buy a starter set of tokens.

GameFi principles are not new, although the association of projects with blockchain has renewed interest in a whole industry. All principles of generating some profit existed before decentralization of games. In most cases, if a player gets something for free. Then money in this transaction is a player himself – his time, personal data, behavioral information, his attention, etc. All of this can be sold to analysts, advertisers, researchers, etc.

How to choose gaming projects to make a profit

First of all, it is better to pay attention to the major established projects with a large audience. For example: Axie Infinity, Alien Worlds,  CryptoBlades and many others. The tokens of these projects have the greatest liquidity, which will reduce risks from investing in them.

Another strategy could be to buy blockchain service tokens. In which most of the GameFi-projects are located. In addition to Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, it is possible to buy more specific ones: WAX, EOS, KardiaChain, ThunderCore.

Our experts say that it is very dangerous to follow new projects without personal experience. Many of them are created for purposes of scams or financial pyramid scheme principles. Others may close due to bad business processes and external manipulation.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts named promising projects where there is a strong gamer community with high involvement. This allows brands to integrate into gaming. Coins from game studios and native tokens from the top five most popular games are also worth considering.

Why it’s not a good idea to buy a rapidly growing asset and use highly leveraged debt. And under what conditions do most new users lose money because of Whales

Many cryptocurrency users believe that big investors, known as Whales. They use media hype and technical manipulation of cryptocurrency exchanges for their own profit. It is believed that the income received from such actions, Whales receive at the expense of losses of many smaller investors.

Crypto-Upvotes experts told us what schemes Whales use to manage prices in crypto markets. And how not to fall into a trap prepared by them.

Our experts tell us what manipulation schemes Whales use

Whales use the same schemes to manipulate the price of an asset. As do most famous investment funds or banks on the stock market. In exchange trading and speculation, psychological factors always matter. It is enough to leak FUD about problems of this or that crypto-platform. As their tokens begin to decline in price. Also our Crypto-Upvotes experts give an example of tweets of Elon Musk. After which the value of some “meme” cryptocurrencies quickly rises.

Another popular method of manipulation is through volume sales or purchases of assets. Selling can stimulate a decline in the value of BTC and other coins. Or be a signal that the price will start to fall. A large purchase of an asset by an institutional investor could be the result of insider information. And predict a rapid rise in price of coin.

There are quite a lot of opportunities to manipulate the price. Informedness of exchanges themselves allows Whales to create conditions for short-term price changes. Clients of some exchanges say that after making the first serious profit on margin accounts (futures contracts). They have problems with opening “sell stop” and “buy stop” orders. Which automatically and unnoticeably for trader change to other types of orders. For example when BTC quotes were balancing near $20,000. FTX clients began to complain about the inability to place buy orders below that level. Because their prices “are out of the range calculated by this platform”.

Another way to manipulate without direct sales. Is to create “walls” of buying or selling. By setting high volumes to sell at lower market limits. It forces those who want to sell to lower their prices quickly. After that price falls and the “wall” goes even lower. In fact, Whale is not even directly involved in trades in this scheme. But he provokes other traders to conduct transactions under much worse conditions for themselves.

How not to fall into trap prepared by Whale and not to lose your money

A huge number of bull and bear traps are created specifically to take money from new investors. Therefore, investors without experience are advised to engage in long-term investments.

Therefore, we should not be focused on actions of large investors. You have to follow their actions, but don’t try to repeat all their actions yourself. That way there is less chance that Whales will use you for their own goals. And forcing you to buy or sell something. Make your own decision, not influenced by tweets from Elon Musk.

Crypto-Upvotes experts tell about variants of making money in unstable market

Now cryptocurrency market, like the global market, is in a bearish trend and many investors are losing their money. High inflation in developed countries, logistical problems because of COVID19, China, which has not recovered from a pandemic – all this has a very strong impact on markets.

For stock market, everything is quite clear: shares of high-tech sector will obviously continue to fall. But things are not so simple for cryptocurrencies.

Correlation of crypto market with stock indices has been high for the last two years. Consequently, BTC should fall in price. But cryptocurrency market is more open to manipulation by big investors. This means that now the “whales” will try their best to remove small traders from market. Who are trying to make money on the expected fall of BTC.

One of the options to make money in a volatile market is to open short positions on Bitcoin. Which is likely to renew its many-month lows. Although it’s showing growth right now. It is worth placing short orders considering that the cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset. It can fall as well as jump in price by many percent in a day.

That’s what we’re seeing now: even though everyone was expecting bitcoin to fall. BTC suddenly began to rise and passed $21,000. So stops should be set higher. Although this involves some risk, if predictions do not come true.

In general, it is very risky to make short-term bets on an unstable market. It is better to choose a couple of assets that can be held for 2-3 years. In addition to bitcoin, we would add Ethereum to our investment portfolio. Which is preparing to switch to Proof-of-Stake. Solana is also worth adding to your portfolio. Because decentralized financial applications will clearly show an increase in liquidity and user base. And consequently, many projects will choose this blockchain for their projects.

Disclaimer

Crypto-Upvotes experts do not give investment advice. This material is published for informational purposes only. Cryptocurrency is a volatile asset that can lead to financial losses.

Now there are many blockchain-based Do-to-Earn platforms offering earnings for activity. Experts at “Crypto-Upvotes” told what prospects such startups have. And what risks for investors exist.

Do-to-Earn projects are becoming popular they allow you to earn from some action, from participating in a game to walking and swimming. Play-to-Earn projects are blockchain-based games where users get tokens for completing tasks. Upgrade their characters or breed pets.

There are projects that pay for singing (Sing-to-Earn), working with documents (Write-to-Earn), and even sleeping (Sleep-to-Earn). Learn-to-Earn platforms offer users to earn money by learning a foreign language.

Interest in such applications, fueled by marketers, is growing every day. Experts from Crypto-Upvotes discussed the prospects of this industry. And he discussed about risks that an investor may face when working with tokens of such projects.

Easy money or good marketing work that hides high risks

Every year people fall for the promises of big profits that such projects offer. Do-to-earn projects came from the gaming space. People bought items in games for status or utility in a game world, our expert told us.

The very phenomenon of Do-to-earn captures gamblers and lovers of easy money. This explains the variety of subspecies of decentralized games. Some projects due to the great hype of their project allow investors and players to stay in profit. When the whole cryptocurrency market has been in a bearish trend for several months. And the number of such projects and their various subspecies is growing very fast. But among newcomers in market, a significant part of startups are inherently unprofitable or even scam.And yet our experts are confident that success of these projects has short-term potential. And it is related only as long as a project has good marketing.

Is it possible to profit from Do-to-Earn, opinion of our Crypto Upvotes experts

The collapse of such projects is inevitable?

In 2021, this segment moved to a new stage – the promise of tokens for physical activity. For example, the most popular project is STEPN (an app where gameplay is built around digital sneakers in NFT form). Our expert asked some simple questions. “Why would a project pay for your physical activity? Why would it spend millions of dollars on advertising? Are project creators working at a loss to themselves. And dreaming that everyone in the world would improve their health?”.

The answers to these questions are very simple. As long as the project remains popular, users buy sneakers and tokens. And thousands of new people around the world pour their savings into the pyramid. But the collapse of such a project cannot be avoided. And whoever doesn’t manage to sell tokens at the right time will be at a huge loss.

Nevertheless, our expert thinks that you can make money on such a project and come out with a profit; the main thing is to sell in time. This is possible because millions of dollars are invested in the project, both retail investors and large players.

But the long-term perspective of such projects is doubtful. In his opinion, the profitability of such games is directly related to the liquidity of game tokens. Which, in turn, depends on adding new players to the project. Do-to-earn projects are very similar to classic “Ponzi schemes”. Although their profit distribution principle is different.

Such games continue to be profitable only as long as there is hype and media activity around them. They provide a sufficient influx of new users. But as soon as ATH is reached, a project can go down and never come back up again.

Even experienced investors sometimes find it hard to know which of the many young crypto projects is worth investing in. Our experts explain what kind of returns startup coins can bring. What is IDO and where their liquidity collections take place.

Raising capital for companies from a wide range of investors is a critical mechanism for creting new businesses in today’s economy. Crypto assets market is no exception and has its own formats similar to IPO model.

Almost everyone who has encountered cryptocurrencies knows what an ICO is and what happened to this market in 2018. In fact, ICO market is dead after the 2018 bubble, subsequently SEC severely restricted them. Statistics say that about 90% of all ICO ended up failing.

But having gone through a crypto winter, crypto market did not get rid of the natural need for liquidity inflows to nascent projects, which is where the new era of IDO and launchpad started.

To participate in IDO of a project, you will need, as in case of IPO, to get an allocation to buy tokens at a low price before their release on exchange. This is where the main investor profit is hidden. Launchpad already has quite a few – more than 70 platforms. As of today, almost $1 billion has been raised through them. And the average increase in investment was X25. It looks very good for investors, but there are big risks hidden here as well.

Analysis of IDO profits on several major launchpads

We decided to check some of major launchpads (Polkastarter and DAO Maker). And analyze their data based on Cryptorank data. Despite popularity of these platforms, we can immediately notice that each of them individually does not raise hundreds of millions of dollars. On average by platform, each project raises about $261,000. The average profitability on 2 platforms was 5%. In fact, this is the yield since the listing of project. In this material, we provide figures as of early June. When bitcoin was trading above $30,000 and cryptocurrency market was not at bottom as it is today.

Our Crypto-Upvotes experts decided to take a detailed study of one of most popular launch pads – Polkastarter.

The largest number of projects that raised funds on Polkastarter belong to the DeFi category. A total of 38 DeFi projects were placed on the platform. Of these, only 21% did not fall below listing price at end of day. Also of note are the indicators related to token price at historical highs (ATH). Indeed, if you held any new token placed on Polkastarter DeFi for an average of 21 days. You could hope for yields as high as 4,900%. But given the “survival rate” of projects, that would be a veritable casino with no chance of a fundamental prediction.

Most optimal IDO segment on Polkastarter turned out to be the projects serving the blockchain infrastructure. They showed lower returns on almost all metrics. However, with a more limited sample of 11 projects, 27% of projects traded above listing price as of early June, which is the best result across all segments of this platform.

Conclusion

It’s been 4 years since ICO bubble burst, 2 of which turned out to be very “depressing” for the crypto industry. On average, on the 2 largest launchpads, 73% of all projects today are trading below listing price. Thus, participating in project offerings on launchpads for long-term investors seems like a bad idea. Launchpads can be seen as part of a risky portfolio and sell project tokens for a very short period of time after they go to exchange. You should also be extremely careful when buying new project tokens. Once a project has been launched, you have little time to make a decision to sell. You run risks ending up with a token belonging to the same 73% of projects that are now selling below launch price.