Initial coin offerings: current trends and future research directions

Initial coin offerings (ICO) have emerged as a niche financing arrangement, primarily used by budding tech-savvy entrepreneurs to fund their projects through token sales. This paper explores the various research dimensions on this complex means of raising funds, primarily its relevance, grey aspects, and offers future research directions. The theoretical underpinnings of various scholarly articles in reputed journals are reviewed to gauge the continuously expanding ICO domain. To recognize key aspects of ICO, this study relies on a three-tier analysis comprising of systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and content analysis. The study identifies five distinct clusters: dynamics influencing ICO, drivers facilitating ICO investments, empirical validation of ICO success factors, adopting best practices for efficacious ICO and emerging perspectives on ICO. Based on these clusters, future research directions are offered. This study is a ready reckoner for scholars, aspiring to identify the evolution of ICO, current dynamics, and future research directions. This study not only offers existing and prospective entrepreneurs into efficiently designing and deploying ICO, but also highlights determinants that should be considered by investors while investing in ICO. Further, the study also illustrates several key challenges that requires adequate global regulation to ensure its sustainability and advancement.