ICO Analysts
56 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2020 Last revised: 27 May 2021
There are 2 versions of this paper
ICO Analysts
Date Written: May 26, 2021
Abstract
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) provide a clean opportunity and rich data to study the contribution of analysts to the functioning of capital markets. The assessments of freelancing ICO analysts vary in quality and exhibit biases due to the reciprocal interactions of analysts with ICO team members. Ratings predict ICO success, but imperfectly. Even favorably rated ICOs tend to fail when a greater portion of their ratings reciprocate prior ratings. Failure despite strong ratings is also frequent when analysts have a history of optimism, and when reviews strike a particularly positive tone. These findings suggest that information about the track record of analysts and their potentially conflicting activities is valuable to investors.
Keywords: Analysts, Asymmetric Information, FinTech, Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
JEL Classification: G14, G24, L26, D82, D83
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation