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Initial Coin Offerings, Information Disclosure, and Fraud

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Listed:
  • Lars Hornuf
  • Theresa Kück
  • Armin Schwienbacher

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 that 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, 2019. "Initial Coin Offerings, Information Disclosure, and Fraud," CESifo Working Paper Series 7962, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7962
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    13. Winifred Huang & Michele Meoli & Silvio Vismara, 2020. "The geography of initial coin offerings," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 77-102, June.
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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. 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).
    3. Maksim Belitski & Dmitri Boreiko, 2022. "Success factors of initial coin offerings," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1690-1706, December.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    initial coin offering; fraud; crypto-currencies;
    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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