In recent years, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have emerged as a novel way of start-up funding based on blockchain technology. The industry grew substantially after its creation in the past decade and so did the research effort that is put into the explanation of ICO success and underpricing. Analysing 380 ICOs that occurred between 2015 and 2019 and got listed on coinmarketcap.com, this thesis seeks to contribute to this field of research by building on past discoveries both of ICO and Initial Public Offering (IPO) literature. Moreover, a start-ups ESG orientation is measured in the form of a score based on the contents of the whitepaper and is examined as a driver for ICO underpricing. The results of the analysis suggest that a higher ESG orientation leads to less underpricing. Also, characteristics of the dataset are assessed, relevant literature is reviewed and put into perspective with the thesis findings and limitations of the work and suggestions for future research are outlined.
Negli ultimi anni, le Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) sono emerse come un nuovo modo di finanziamento delle start-up basate sulla tecnologia blockchain. Nell'ultimo decennio l'industria è cresciuta notevolmente dopo la sua creazione, al pari della ricerca che è stata sviluppata per spiegare il successo delle ICO e l'underpricing. Analizzando 380 ICO avvenute tra il 2015 e il 2019 e quotate su coinmarketcap.com, questa tesi cerca di contribuire a questo campo di ricerca basandosi sulle scoperte passate della letteratura sulle ICO e sulle Initial Public Offerings (IPO).Inoltre, si è esaminato l'orientamento ESG di una start-up misurandolo come punteggio basato sul contenuto del relativo whitepaper e si è indagata la sua influenza come driver per l'underpricing delle ICO. I risultati dell'analisi suggeriscono che un maggiore orientamento ESG porta a un minore underpricing. Inoltre, vengono valutate le caratteristiche dei dati, viene esaminata la letteratura pertinente e messa in prospettiva con i risultati della tesi e vengono delineati le limitazioni del lavoro e i suggerimenti per ricerche future.
Initial Coin Offerings: Examining Potential Drivers of Underpricing
MAZAL, ROBIN
2022/2023
Abstract
In recent years, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have emerged as a novel way of start-up funding based on blockchain technology. The industry grew substantially after its creation in the past decade and so did the research effort that is put into the explanation of ICO success and underpricing. Analysing 380 ICOs that occurred between 2015 and 2019 and got listed on coinmarketcap.com, this thesis seeks to contribute to this field of research by building on past discoveries both of ICO and Initial Public Offering (IPO) literature. Moreover, a start-ups ESG orientation is measured in the form of a score based on the contents of the whitepaper and is examined as a driver for ICO underpricing. The results of the analysis suggest that a higher ESG orientation leads to less underpricing. Also, characteristics of the dataset are assessed, relevant literature is reviewed and put into perspective with the thesis findings and limitations of the work and suggestions for future research are outlined.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/3157