What efficiency demands

Necessity and efficiency have been driving innovation for as long as we have been on this planet. Our basic needs remain the same but how we experience them keeps on changing periodically. We make new inventions to try and make our lives run more efficiently. Efficiency can never be fully satisfied with the amount of innovation we come up with each year. We had banks and a means to transfer money but efficiency influenced the creation of mobile money transfers which has simplified greatly cash transfers from one party to the other.

We had credit and debit cards but efficiency demanded that we come up with mobile payments such as Apple pay which has made checkouts more efficient. We could go to stores and buy products but efficiency demanded that we come up with online marketplaces where we could do our shopping conveniently. We had ways to store records, share information, do our calculations but efficiency demanded that we simplify our lives through computers.

The blockchain chapter

Computers have changed the course of history, without them, we would not be where we are right now. Even with computers we kept on improving and we are still improving the computer systems that we have. The internet came about and it has helped connect the whole world. Blockchain is now the leading innovation in computer systems and it is shaping the future of nearly any product or service that is linked to the internet.

Through blockchain, the idea and implementation of the internet of things is being adopted by a lot of companies that are basing their platforms on blockchain:

• These companies are coming up with unique applications that are redefining some of the services and products we are used to.

• There is a boom in the blockchain sector as more companies come up with their own versions of what they think blockchain would change.

• Even countries are seeing the benefits of the system and are trying to adopt them to help avert the problems they experience through their existing platforms.

Any company that is coming up or any company reinventing itself usually needs some cash flow for their operations. This is the case with upcoming blockchain companies and existing companies which want to adopt the blockchain platform. In the past, IPOs were the go to option for any company that wanted to increase their liquidity. However, with tight regulations on blockchain platforms, a new way had to be developed, out of necessity and convenience, since IPOs would have been a pain to most of these companies. ICOs became the go to method for funding blockchain projects and they have been working better than IPOs.

In as much as they are more convenient, they have a few drawbacks that may even lead to the collapse of an entire project. These drawbacks may be few but they are weighty as they touch on the important aspects of the project being done.

The challenges ICOs face

The year 2017 was probably the most profitable year in ICO history. The surge in blockchain and Ethereum prices encouraged more people to invest in upcoming ICOs which promised very good products. A lot of money was raised during these ICOs and some were very successful. However, there is always the good and the bad in nearly every story. About 46% of the ICOs that took place in 2017 failed to deliver what they had promised or failed to reach their set target. Apart from this blow, of the US$ 3.7 billion that was collected in the ICOs, about 10% or more of this was lost.

Most of this was stolen through a number of hacks that these platforms experience. With the amount of money being transacted through the websites of these ICOs during the crowdsale, hackers have found a new hunting ground in the ICO marketspace where they exploit weaknesses in these systems and make way with millions of US dollars with every successful hack.

The challenge of security is just one of the problems ICOs have to deal with. Attacks come from anywhere a security loophole can be found. Phishing is the most widely used way hackers use to steal ICO funds from these companies with some reports indicating that hackers would make way with about 1.5million in US dollars per month just from phishing.

The CoinDash ICO experienced this first hand when they were having their crowdsale. A hacker managed to reroute part of the contributions made to the platform to an unknown party. Before this, reports indicate that they had raised over US$ 7 million. The hackers made way with this amount causing serious problems for the ICO. Parity wallet also suffered from the hands of hackers when 150,000 ethers were stolen from their customers’ accounts through vulnerabilities in their platform. For Parity, the worst was yet to come. In 2017, a bug caused about US$275 million in ether to be frozen. This is as painful to the issuer as the investor of the tokens.

Crowdsale issues

Besides the security challenges, ICOs may also face challenges in terms of how they handle their crowdsale and private sale.

1. Poor planning of ICOs can lead to their quick collapse. One of the main reasons why this happens, especially for new projects are the lack of or inadequate information and experience on how to run an ICO.

2. Project developers are left to deal with their project development and the planning of the ICO. This can be too heavy for a small team and it may lead to a lot of loopholes on the ICO end and incomplete aspects of the project in the development end. Even for a larger team, it may disrupt their focus on the project as they take on the challenges that come with planning for an ICO.

3. When you add on the stress of finding your appropriate market and building a good user base through that market, running an ICO and working on the project seems like an increasingly strenuous endeavor.

Lack of credibility

The issue of credibility has made legitimate ICOs not to achieve their full potential. A number of ICOs that were carried out in 2017 were found out to be pure scams. Some did not even take the time to polish up their whitepapers and offered such confusing and unreasonable services. There are ICOs that do not even try to hide their true intentions after they have received the amount they want.

The most famous of this being Prodeum which trolled its investors. Such activities create a very bad image for ICOs. Investors end up losing faith in new ones that come up with good products because of a few bad examples. But investors cannot be blamed as there is no sure way of knowing whether an ICO is fake or real.

The problem of ICO scams is so great that the SEC (the Security and Exchanges Commission in USA) created a fake blockchain start-up with all the usual ICO characteristics complete with a whitepaper and a website with a link where the tokens can be bought from. They did this to try and educate the public on how easy it is to be scammed by fake ICOs. The purchase link led to a site where investors are educated on how to determine and avoid such scams. There is definitely a need of a method to ascertain the credibility of ICOs.

Experience, the best teacher

The best lessons come from what we have experienced and even from what others have experienced. QOUINE is a fintech company that hosted its ICO in 2017 and it did so successfully. However, they experienced a few challenges during the whole process that made them think deeply about the number of ICOs suffering from the same problems.

Some of the challenges have been mentioned such as security but there are others such as not being listed in exchanges in time which may also be affecting ICOs. QUOINE saw the damages these challenges may cause if not addressed in time and therefore came up with a system known as the ICO Mission Control which they will integrate with some of their existing platforms to provide a better ICO experience for both the token issuer and the investors.

ICO Mission Control

ICO Mission Control is QUOINE's new platform launching on QRYPTOS
wants to simplify the ICO process for token issuers and investors in these platforms;

1. Having gone through some of the challenges that ICOs face, QUOINE is making this platform to host ICOs for any company that has passed its requirements.

2. Before ICO Mission control, the only way to fundraise for blockchain companies was through ICOs.

3)QUOINE is providing a better option with services that will make the entire process much more efficient for all interested parties.

1. QUOINE's ICO Mission Control will also ensure that KYC and AML requirements have been fully met by all participants thereby helping in securing their platform from fraudsters or money launderers.
   

QUOINE's ICO mission control is going to change the market perspective on how fundraisers should be carried out. Their option is far more superior in terms of the services that it offers. ICO Mission Control is all about the heavy lifting. All the weighty issues that ICOs require will be dealt with by ICO Mission Control. They will handle the security of the entire process such that token issuers and investors can be assured that their assets and money is safe. This will be a step up from the normal way of conducting ICOs where security breaches are most likely to occur.

Difficulties made easy

By taking up the administrative side of ICOs, ICO Mission Control will have allowed the blockchain project teams that are using their platform to focus more of their energy on the products and services they want to provide. A lot of time is usually wasted in planning for ICOs which would have been spent in fine-tuning the blockchain project to serve their clients better. With ICO Mission Control it will be possible to conduct an ICO in just a few minutes.

Participants will be able to purchase tokens providing instant payments for their tokens. This will then be reflected in the ICO of that particular project. Imagine something as convenient as this! Furthermore, the ICO mission control can be made to host multiple ICOs running at the same time. All users will have to do is to select the ICO they would want to participate in and they will be guided through the process. QUOINE
is even improving their QRYPTOSplatform for the experience to be smoother.

QUOINE is an already established platform which ran a successful ICO. This holds some good credibility and also means that they have a sizeable following. Furthermore, QUOINE has been recognized by one of Japan’s regulatory bodies, the Japan Financial Service Agency, which has given them a license of operation. With such credentials, people would want to be associated with anything that [QUOINE (https://bit.ly/2L86ARG) is a part of which includes ICO Mission Control.

Established credibility

The ICOs that will be hosted on ICO Mission Control will have gained the confidence of all those who have worked with and have experienced the good services QUOINEoffers:

• These ICOs will also be exposed to an already established user population that is on the QRYPTOS exchange platform.

• These are users who trade daily on crypto assets and may want to involve themselves with the tokens being hosted in the ICO Mission Control platform.

• QOUINEXis the daily crypto-fiat platform exchange.

• Therefore, ICO Mission Control opens up more opportunities for any company that wants to have their ICO hosted on QUOINE's platform.

Investors sometimes find investing in multiple ICOs a pain. Each ICO has their own KYC and AML requirements that have to be met first before participation is accepted. This involves filling different forms for different ICOs. For the ICOs, it also becomes a challenge having to go through a whitelisting process just so that you can determine who can and who cannot participate in your project.

The ICO Mission Control has a way of making everyone happy in this case. For users who are already in QUOINE'splatforms, they had to fill KYC and AML forms which mean that QUOINE has their records. QUOINE will make it such that anyone who has their KYC and AML data with their system can participate in any ICO that will be hosted through ICO Mission Control. ICO Mission Control will therefore only require a one-time registration, and maybe a few data updates when the need arises, for one to participate in blockchain projects hosted on their platform. How convenient is this!

Pricing in ICOs is also a key challenge. ICOs accept different forms of payment including fiat. The markets for these currencies usually have high volatility. Following them up may be hard especially when you have to do that and still manage the token sale. ICO Mission Control will be providing their clients with real time analytics that shows the market trends on currency and gives enough data that will advise how the ICO should fair on and what kind of decisions should be made before, during and after the tokens sale. This will reduce the risk of losses that would have been made due to inadequate data on the market and market trends.

The ICO Mission Control platform will be integrated to the QRYPTOS platform as QRYPTOS will be performing some services for the platform which includes giving users access to their exchange. However, QUOINE plans to integrate QRYPTOS with its Liquid platform which is soon being released. This will help increase access to the liquidity needed during ICOs and post ICOs.

The initiating partner

The first blockchain project that will carry out its ICO through the ICO Mission Control platform is the VUULR service that seeks to monetize the TV knowledge of its subscribers. The partnership between these two companies for the first ICO to be hosted in QUOINE's new platform will set the pace for others to join in. The experience that VUULR will have may determine the direction other blockchain projects take in terms of fundraising through ICOs. VUULR is however very much excited to be the first blockchain company to use the ICO Mission Control platform to launch their ICO, according to their CEO Ian McKee.

The future of ICOs

ICO Mission Control has set itself up as the future of conducting ICOs. What it offers is more than blockchain companies would require to conduct a successful ICO. QUOINE's platform does so much more than just hosting the ICO. It gives this project a platform where they can have access to a ready market. It also offers a form of credibility which creates confidence in investors. Its security procedures are also top notch ensuring that the platform is secure by ensuring that all participants have met all the requirements made and the ICOs being hosted have also met their requirements.

The ICO Mission Control platform will promote flexibility, transparency, efficiency and scalability and with a capable team that has amassed years of experience, it presents itself as the best possible solution to the challenges blockchain companies face during their ICO events.

Further Links
QRYPTOS
QUOINE
QOUINEX

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