[Subcide]

Yes, though usually not by just holding. ICOs with small caps often list on exchanges at a decent % profit in the first few days, while the people that missed out on the ICO buy in. The link the other user posted obviously doesn't take this into account, and only tracks holding the token indefinitely. In all likelihood, a LOT of people profited on the ICOs that ICOStats lists as negative right now.

[beager]

This sounds like the same dynamic that institutional investors use on IPOs, where only privileged players get to buy in the IPO, and they sell through a pop fueled by hype or an underestimated target. Shares hit the general public and by the time you've got a few quarterly calls in, the true value is set and the long road begins, while the institutionals and earlier investors have already cashed out some good gains.

If democratizing access to ownership offerings for the purpose of quick sell off is the major benefit of ICOs, what does this do for serious businesses? Why would they choose an inherently less stable and less secure (cf. DAO hack on Ethereum) medium if it primarily benefits the investors and not the company?

Beyond that, it remains to be seen what IRL innovations can be enabled by ICO, whether more easily or necessarily vis a vis traditional fundraising vehicles.

[Anderkent]

I.e. the greater fool theory - buy the ICO so that you can sell it for someone who bought into the hype at a higher price later on.

[fiatjaf]

Well, these statistics take in account only a short period of time in which all coins and tokens were going upward like crazy.