An ICO stands for an acronym for Initial Coin Offering. That is a new way to raise funds for projects by selling cryptocurrency. Tech startups mainly use the process.
So, how to participate in an ICO?
To register for an ICO, you must go to the site of the ICO in question and register. Generally, the place to register is indicated by a Join Whitelist or Token Sale Registration button.
Depending on the ICO, you will be asked for different information:
- Last name
- First name
- Your public ERC20 wallet address (not your private key) if the token operates from the Ethereum protocol
- Number of ETH (or BTC) you plan to invest
- Identity documents (passport, identity card, license)
Some ICOs won’t ask you for much information about yourself, while others may ask for a lot more details.
You can use different tools to create a valid Ethereum address to participate in an ICO:
- MetaMask
- MyEtherWallet
- Ledger Nano S
Some ICOs are not carried out using the Ethereum protocol. In this case, the developers provide a specific module for purchasing tokens or a wallet dedicated to the project. In this situation, you will not be asked for your public Ethereum address when registering for the ICO.
Once your registration has been completed and validated, and your ERC-20 compatible Ethereum public address is ready to be used, all you have to do is wait for the address of the smart contract to which you must send your ethers or bitcoins to be announced.
To participate in an ICO, you will, in most cases, need to own bitcoins or ethers. You can get BTC and ETH against fiat (euros, dollars) on different exchanges such as Coinbase.
As we have seen previously, it is essential to use a wallet for which you have private keys. Prohibition to use the public address of an exchange platform.
Once the ICO starts, you must send your ethers to the address provided by the ICO. If the site is overloaded or crashes, we advise you to join Discord or Telegram communities relating to this ICO to be kept informed in real-time. In exchange, you will receive the corresponding number of ICO tokens.
The tokens will be available on a dedicated wallet for ICOs that are not carried out using the Ethereum protocol.
Some precautions
Beware, many individuals try to scam people during ICOs. They do not hesitate to usurp the identity of the project’s founders and create fake official accounts on social networks. Be very careful with Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and Slack accounts, and beware of people who come to talk to you to help you participate in the ICO. They will probably try to provide you with a fake address to embezzle your funds.
Check that the address to which you will send the funds is the correct one. Do not hesitate to compare your sources: ICO Calendar, Official ICO website, Telegram, Twitter, Slack, Facebook, and YouTube (sometimes the founders announce the address out loud in front of the camera to avoid scam attempts).
