Since its inception in the early 2010s, Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has been a popular crowdfunding model tapping into the technology behind cryptocurrencies. Almost a decade later, the model has evolved to present multiple variants, although ICOs still appeal to people. For startups planning to utilize the model for community building and fundraising, ICO development cost is a concern. That is why this edition of our blog addresses in detail the cost to develop ICO campaigns from end to end in 2023-2024. So, what are you waiting for? Continue reading further to get enlightened on this burning question!
Where Do ICOs Stand Today?
According to CB insight data, ICOs have raised over US$19 billion in funds since 2013, compared to the US$969 million raised by the equity crowdfunding model. Ethereum has been the most popular network for ICO projects due to its community size and features. Also, most ICOs focus on financial applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi).
That being said, the ICO model is still utilized, as we can witness many scheduled events from ICO calendars, such as this one from CoinMarketCap. Obviously, startups and small-scale enterprises use the model as a way to access the crypto market and gain funding to keep their dreams alive.
Factors Contributing to ICO Development Cost
If you are an entrepreneur looking to create an ICO campaign, you might wonder about the cost to developing ICO campaigns. But wait – one cannot be assured of concrete pricing for creating ICOs, although we can discuss the factors involved in the process.
That will be our focus in the upcoming sections, where we explain factors making up the ICO development cost. With an experience exceeding 7 years in the crypto industry, we have launched hundreds of successful ICOs that offer insights that can help you understand better.
Whitepaper Development
For any ICO project to succeed, having a detailed and concise whitepaper is essential. This document offers in-depth information about the project that investors should know before investing. While it might be disregarded in hindsight due to the technical elements it presents, the whitepaper serves as vital marketing propaganda appealing to investors.
Creating a quality whitepaper is a huge task as a lot of market research has to be done. Textual and visual content has to be created to match the project’s theme. Such a need for resources impacts the cost of creating an ICO’s whitepaper and the final ICO development campaign.
Website Development
Since ICO campaigns are completely independent of an external platform, centralized or decentralized, it is crucial for them to have their own websites. While building a website nowadays might be easy due to drag-and-drop software, creating a quality one for an upcoming ICO project incurs significant costs.
The website has to match the project’s themes in every word and image present while offering an easy experience for users to navigate. One should also note that the ICO website is the place where initial sales occur. This makes it necessary for projects to link the initial offering portal to the website properly.
Blockchain Development
Initial coin offerings involve the use of complex technology such as blockchains and smart contracts. It is essential to create quality programs that enable token minting and distribution during the fundraising event. Doing so needs the experience of blockchain developers well versed in creating programs using appropriate languages based on the network.
While the most popular network is Ethereum, other blockchains like BNB Chain, Solana, Avalanche, and EOS have been favored among new-age cryptopreneurs. The complex nature and the technical expertise required in blockchain development this one of the costly factors involved in developing an ICO campaign.
Security Audit
As much as blockchain development contributes to the cost of developing an ICO, security audits are an equally important yet costly factor in ICO development. We already know the back end of ICOs is complex in nature. Hence it is vital to conduct extensive checks of the underlying code.
To make the ICO environment safe from hackers and program bugs, code audits using multiple use cases involving automation and manual inputs are performed. If errors are found, they are resolved promptly. The process is carried out multiple times until most deficiencies in the ICO platform and its smart contracts are removed.
Exchange Listing
If you ask anyone who has launched an ICO, you might hear them saying listing their coin in exchanges is a challenging task. While there are over 650 exchanges operating today, according to CoinMarketCap, getting a never-known-before ICO token is not easy. With a lot of activity going on in centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs), projects consider listing their tokens on these platforms.
Listing crypto tokens in an exchange typically involves lengthy paperwork and associated fees. If you can afford to allocate a big chunk of your budget for exchange listing, getting your tokens on prominent exchanges will be easier. Doing so will raise trust in your project among investors, a result worth all the expenses spent.
Legal Expenses
The emerging nature of cryptocurrencies means regulators are still grasping the concept’s intricacies. In the case of an ICO project, all legal considerations according to the operational jurisdictions should be complied with to ensure hassle-free experiences. Ensuring this through sufficient legal frameworks contributes to the overall ICO development cost.
The process involves working with experienced crypto law professionals to understand regional regulations, undergo necessary licensing and registration formalities, and frame terms of use and privacy notices to users. An ICO project should also have a small team of legal experts beside it even after launching, which might incur additional expenses.
Marketing
Promoting the ICO project is equally important as creating it, which makes ICO marketing a critical factor. We should note that promotions incur variable costs according to market dynamics and trends. We should also ensure to utilize multiple strategies on various mediums for promotional activities to leverage the widespread crypto space.
Marketing with Blockchain App Factory professionals means you have access to numerous strategies and influential figures for your ICO project. However, the costs increase with the scale of promotions, and one should also note that advertising post-launch is an unignorable aspect which we will see in a later section.
Realize Your ICO Campaign at Affordable Costs While Working with the Industry’s Best!
Process Behind Launching an ICO
Launching an ICO involves a lengthy process that, if executed, can fulfill your community-building and fundraising goals. It involves activities that span the whole duration, such as marketing to short-term activities like ideation and whitepaper creation.
Things get swifter when the project owners have proper visualization of their thoughts beforehand and stay true to their initial goals over the course of development. Of course, the entire process comes at a cost, and there are ways to optimize it, which we will see in a later section. Here is the basic process involved in creating an ICO project:
- Project Ideation
- Whitepaper Drafting
- ICO Token Creation
- Smart Contract Coding
- Conducting Pre-ICO Phase
- Public ICO Announcement
- ICO Project Marketing
- Token Sale
- Token Distribution
- Post-ICO Execution
Should I Spend After Launching My ICO?
Yes! You should spend some resources even after launching your ICO tokens for sale. The token launch does not mark the end of the project. In fact, it is just the beginning of it, and in most cases, projects raise funds to go ahead with their mission.
Expenses post-launch can include marketing efforts, project execution, and onboarding professionals. Keeping in touch with the investor community while showing improvement over time signals your project will never be a scam or a rug pull if we adopt the crypto lingo.
Ways to Optimize the Cost to Develop ICO Campaigns
If you want to optimize the cost to develop ICO campaigns, multiple ways exist. One of them is to opt for the services of an experienced ICO development company like Blockchain App Factory. We emphasize the importance of conducting transparent ICOs supplemented by user-focused marketing.
If there is another way to optimize your ICO campaign’s cost, it is to allocate funds according to your fundraising goals. Although it is not necessary to spend a lot, spending too little will not give the results you desire. By working with an experienced team like ours, you can know the ideal amount of money to be spent on your ICO.
Conclusion
Henceforth, we have seen the factors contributing to the ICO development cost. From ideation and whitepaper creation to token launch and post-launch promotions, there are costs associated with each step, and one should be aware of them. We hope the blog gave necessary insights into the considerations to be made before creating your ICO campaign. If you are curious about developing an ICO, contact our experts right away by filling out the form given below!
