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Initial coin offerings, information disclosure, and fraud

Author

Listed:
  • Lars Hornuf

    (Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
    University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics
    CESifo)

  • Theresa Kück

    (University of Bremen, Faculty of Business Studies and Economics)

  • Armin Schwienbacher

    (Université Côte d’Azur)

Abstract

We study the extent of fraud in initial coin offerings (ICOs), and whether information disclosure prior to the issuance predicts fraud. We document different types of fraud, and that fraudulent ICOs are on average much larger than the sample average. Issuers who disclose their code on GitHub are more likely to be targeted by phishing and hacker activities, which suggests that there are risks related to disclosing the code. Generally, we find it extremely difficult to predict fraud with the information available at the time of issuance. This calls for the need to install a third party that certifies the quality of the issuers, such as specialized platforms, or the engagement of institutional investors and venture capital funds that can perform a due diligence and thus verify the quality of the project.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Hornuf & Theresa Kück & Armin Schwienbacher, 2022. "Initial coin offerings, information disclosure, and fraud," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1741-1759, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:58:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s11187-021-00471-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-021-00471-y
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    Cited by:

    1. Lars Hornuf & Paul P. Momtaz & Rachel J. Nam & Ye Yuan, 2023. "Cybercrime on the Ethereum Blockchain," CESifo Working Paper Series 10598, CESifo.
    2. Rasivisuth, Pornpanit & Fiaschetti, Maurizio & Medda, Francesca, 2024. "An investigation of sentiment analysis of information disclosure during Initial Coin Offering (ICO) on the token return," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    3. José Campino & Ana Brochado & Álvaro Rosa, 2021. "Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs): the importance of human capital," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(8), pages 1225-1262, October.
    4. Gartner, Johannes & Moro, Andrea, 2024. "C-level managers and born-digitals' scaling: The case of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    5. Klaus Grobys & Timothy King & Niranjan Sapkota, 2022. "A Fractal View on Losses Attributable to Scams in the Market for Initial Coin Offerings," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Jungwon Seo & Deokyoon Ko & Suntae Kim & Vijayan Sugumaran & Sooyong Park, 2022. "Reminisce: Blockchain Private Key Generation and Recovery Using Distinctive Pictures-Based Personal Memory," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, June.
    7. Conlon, Thomas & Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg), 2024. "Contagion effects of permissionless, worthless cryptocurrency tokens: Evidence from the collapse of FTX," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Joern H. Block & Alexander Groh & Lars Hornuf & Tom Vanacker & Silvio Vismara, 0. "The entrepreneurial finance markets of the future: a comparison of crowdfunding and initial coin offerings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-18.
    9. Udit Agarwal & Vinay Rishiwal & Sudeep Tanwar & Mano Yadav, 2024. "Blockchain and crypto forensics: Investigating crypto frauds," International Journal of Network Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 34(2), March.
    10. Stöckel, Jannis & Bom, Judith, 2022. "Revisiting longer-term health effects of informal caregiving: Evidence from the UK," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    11. Sun, Yan & Yang, Sung-Byung, 2024. "Are ICOs the best? A comparison of different fundraising models in blockchain-based fundraising," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    12. Richard Simmons, 2024. "Monetary Transmission & Small Firm Credit Rationing: The Stablecoin Opportunity to Raise Business Credit Flows," FinTech, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-28, August.
    13. Maksim Belitski & Dmitri Boreiko, 2022. "Success factors of initial coin offerings," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1690-1706, December.
    14. Joern H. Block & Alexander Groh & Lars Hornuf & Tom Vanacker & Silvio Vismara, 2021. "The entrepreneurial finance markets of the future: a comparison of crowdfunding and initial coin offerings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 865-882, August.
    15. Christian Hackober & Carolin Bock, 2021. "Which investors’ characteristics are beneficial for initial coin offerings? Evidence from blockchain technology-based firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 91(8), pages 1085-1124, October.
    16. Paola Cerchiello & Anca Mirela Toma & Marco Caluzzi, 2021. "ICOs White Papers: identity card or lark mirror?," DEM Working Papers Series 197, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Initial coin offering; Fraud; Cryptocurrencies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M13 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - New Firms; Startups

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