ICO Success and Post-ICO Performance

Abstract

We compile a comprehensive dataset of initial coin offerings (ICOs) from 19 data sources including 11 ICO aggregators. We alleviate severe limitations of available ICO data by performing the first systematic analysis of ICO data quality and use our dataset to study determinants of ICO funding success as well as post-ICO operating and financial performance. We highlight determinants of ICO success that are new to the literature and overturn some findings in existing studies. In addition, we provide evidence on some determinants of initial and longer-term ICO success on which existing literature has not reached a consensus. We also show that entrepreneurs' skin in the game is an important determinant of venture's post-ICO operating performance. Finally, we demonstrate that post-ICO operating success translates into financial one.

Keywords: ICOs, data quality, performance