Morning Report: Kik’s ICO Is A Success, And Other Late-Stage Startups Could Follow

Morning Report: Kik’s up around $100 million from its ICO, nearly doubling its fundraising to date. Will other late-stage startups join in?

Concerns regarding overly-exuberant froth in the ICO market are often predicated on the nascency of projects attracting huge sums. Many projects picking up millions of dollars in liquid cryptos are little more than a white paper and a dream.

Kik’s recent ICO is counter-trend to some degree. The messaging startup’s nearly $100 million token sale follows the millions Kik has already raised from traditional VC sources.

Here’s the rundown:

This makes the Kik ICO less terrifying than, say, the Bancor or Filecoin ICOs—both of which featured more money and less company. Kik was able to convince a number of traditional investors along the way to its ICO that it had a shot at something big; that backing makes its ICO feel less risky.

Kik has also shown that an ICO doesn’t have to act as a replacement for early-stage capital. Instead, an ICO can find a home in between first checks and a public offering.

And with that, early-stage investors may find relief, but at the expense of an entirely different cohort of investors.

From The Crunchbase Daily: 

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