ICO Market Crto nds 1 Crypto Funds Market Research · in-house analysts Our main aim is to create transparency in the market and provide investors with the tools they need to make

1ICO Market Crypto Funds

icorating.com

Crypto Funds Market Research

Secondary Contact: Steven Campbell Sales & Partnerships Manager+1 646 943 0806 [email protected] York City

The Rating Agency for the ICO Market

Primary Contact:Mikhail MironovHead of Partnerships+31 6 [email protected]

http://icorating.com


2Crypto Funds Market Research

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About the CompanyICORating is the global market leader for independent, non-affiliated analytical research on ICO projects, conducting detailed evaluations and assigning them investment ratings.

$2B+collective AUM of the crypto funds

≈300reviewed or rated projects

20+crypto funds

50+in-house analysts

Our main aim is to create transparency in the market and provide investors with the tools they need to make informed and evidence-based decisions in order to bridge capital and transparent ICOs.

Our team of over 50 analysts have 6 years of experience on average, with companies including hedge funds, large investment banks, major consulting groups, and venture funds. Two years of analyzing the ICO market combined with this diverse set of skills and experience has enabled us to develop a unique multidisciplinary approach. We’ve evaluated over 300 ICO projects for both private and institutional clients since we started doing business in September 2016.

Over 20 crypto-focused funds with a combined $2 billion AUM regularly receive our weekly newsletter featuring ICO projects that we’ve analyzed. These funds rely on our analysis to decide which ICO projects are worthy of sending on to their in-house analysts for a closer look. Our detailed and unbiased reports evaluate ICO project technical elements, business models and tokenomics, teams, and other critical factors.



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IntroductionBeginning in 2018, institutional funds started actively investing in the crypto space, changing the landscape of the industry, especially for ICO projects. As a result of active institutional participation, demands and requirements for projects have become stricter, leading to greater professionalization of this segment.

We consider this development to be broadly positive for the industry and believe that the door for additional institutional and traditional players to enter the market will continue to open further as the crypto space becomes increasingly professionalized. Currently, the influence of institutional capital on the industry is continuing to increase, especially with regard

to ICO investment as institutional players continue to grow their share of the market compared to retail and private investors. In our recent report, we aimed to inform our readers about how crypto-focused funds act, what characteristics they display, their investment tactics, and other information about the role they play in the market.

If you have additional questions about our report or about the growing presence of institutional capital in the ICO industry, feel free to email us at [email protected] ICORating Team



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17% of all funds are tokenized

Fund location

Market Review

More than 30% of these tokens are intended for profit sharing, and they often have the following additional functions: Ownership of the Net Asset Value (NAV), granting of voting rights, the ability to subscribe to trading signals and tokens recommended by analysts, exclusive ICO pre-sale access, and the right to participate in “member-only” discussions.

of funds publicly disclose information on their AUM. 70% of the 80 funds that do disclose the volume of assets under their management are players with volumes of up to 100M USD under management.

Information on fund location is available for 80% of all working crypto funds. Most funds are based in the US (42%), Singapore (7%), and the UK (5%).

38%



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Market Review

was in 2017, however this trend has declined in 2018. The involvement of well-established funds in the industry (those operating since the early 1990s), even those operating at a low level, should also be noted.

In 2018, 8% of all funds who disclosed information about their ROI show a much lower yield than in 2017, with a median ROI of 14% in 2018 compared to a median ROI of 600% in 2017.

The peak time for the founding of funds

Lower yield



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43.7%26.6%Venture

34.9%Acellerator

56.8%4.7%

7.4%

Venture

Hedge

Algo

Arbitrage

ETF

Trading

Buy-and-Hold

Asset Management

Index AcceleratorNumberof funds

→

Strategies→

EstimatedAUM, $B

→

Distribution of Funds’ Strategies by Percentage and AUM The bar chart illustrates the distribution of funds’ strategies in percentages and estimated AUM. The lower bar represents the distribution of funds through the estimated AUM in USD. The upper bar shows the number of funds using each particular investment strategy.

HOW TO READ THE GRAPH

The distribution of funds by AUM is dominated by venture funds and accelerators. Regarding these working funds’ areas of business operation, hedge funds and venture funds are the most common.



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Currently, 17% of all funds are tokenized. More than 30% of these tokens are intended for profit sharing, and often they also have the following additional functions: Ownership of the Net Asset Value (NAV), granting of voting rights, opportunity to pay a subscription for trading signals and a basket of tokens recommended by analysts, exclusive pre-sale ICO access, and the right to participate in “member-only” discussions.

Distribution of Tokenized and Non-Tokenized FundsThe following chart illustrates the distribution of funds that have their own token and funds that do not have one. The right number shows the number of funds not having a token. The left number shows number of funds that have emitted their own token.


35Funds with a token 174

Funds without a token



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Less than 8% of funds are in development. This category mainly includes projects that have completed an ICO in the last 6 months.

Distribution of Funds by Development StatusThe following chart illustrates the distribution of funds according to their status.


169Funds are live

14Funds are in development



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Distribution of Funds by Size

56

AUM < $100M AUM $100—500M AUM > $500M

15Medium-sizedFundsSmall-sized

Funds

9Large-sizedFunds

Currently, only 38% of funds publicly disclose information about their AUM. 70% of the 80 funds that disclosed the volume of assets under their management are players with a volume of up to 100M USD under management.

The chart illustrates the distribution of funds based on their category.


We consider three categories of funds:• Small-sized (having an AUM of less than $100M),

• Medium sized (having an AUM between $100 and 500M,

• Large-sized (having an AUM of more than $500M).



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The USA72 Funds

Singapore13 Funds

The UK9 Funds

China7 Funds

Switzerland8 Funds

Canada5 Funds

MexicoBritish Virgin Islands2 Funds

Hong Kong5 Funds

Cayman Islands6 Funds

Russia5 Funds

NetherlandsGermany3 Funds

Australia3 Funds

Jersey2 Funds

IsraelUnited Arab EmiratesTurkey1 Fund

BrazilPuerto RicoPanamaBahamas1 Fund

SpainFranceIsle of ManMaltaMonaco1 Fund

South Korea1 Fund

Seychelles1 Fund

LiechtensteinLuxembourgUkraine2 Funds

Fund Distribution by LocationThe map illustrates the distribution of funds based on where they are located. A fund’s location is considered to be the country where more than 50% of the company’s team is headquartered.

Information about the location of funds can be found for 80% of the crypto funds currently operating. Most funds are based in the US (42% of funds), Singapore (7% of funds), and the UK (5% of funds).




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The bar chart illustrates the distribution of funds based on their development status and investment targets. The Y-axis shows the development status, the bars colored based on investment target area. The X-axis shows the number of funds.

Most funds (in both the live and development stages) invest in the top cryptocurrencies.


Fund Distribution by Target Investment Areas and Status

Funds’ Target↓

Funds in development →Currently functioning funds →

Blockchain Startups

Crypto

Blockchain Startups, Crypto

Mixed

Multiple Funds

Startups

Numberof funds → 0 10 20 30 40 50

52



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Top Funds Based on Funding (ICO)

The bar chart illustrates the top ICOs conducted by crypto funds. The Y-axis shows the name of each fund, the X-axis shows the amount of funding received during the ICO in USD.

The funds with the largest amounts raised through ICOs were the Bitcoin Growth Fund, Crypto20, and Blackmoon Crypto.

of tokens function only as a form of payment for project’s services. Tokens which could easily be replaced with ETH, for example, without significantly affecting the product are included in this category.

65.8%


Funds’ Name↓

Algo Land

Triaconta

Value Coin

Crypto Fund

Astronaut Capital

AICoin

AxionV

Numerai

TAAS Fund

NapoleonX

FinShi Capital

Blackmoon Crypto

Crypto20

Bitcoin Growth Fund

Funding (ICO)→ 0 $10M$5M $20M $30M $40M

$44.3M



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Fund Distribution by Year Founded The bar chart illustrates the distribution of funds based on the year of foundation of the companies. The Y-axis shows the year, the X-axis shows the number of funds.

The peak point for the founding of funds was in 2017, such activity seems to be declining in 2018. The involvement of well-established funds in the industry (those operating since the early 1990s), even those operating at a low level, should also be noted.


Yearof Foundation

↓

1994

1998

2003

2006

2009

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Numberof Funds → 0 2010 40 60

68



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FundsTarget

↓

Blockchain startups

Crypto

Multiple Funds

Crypto, Blockchain startups

Blockchain startups, ICOs

Blockchain startups

Crypto, Mining, Blockchain startups

Blockchain Startups

Crypto, Mining farm

Startups

Median AUM → 0 $200M$100M

Median AUM Distribution by Investment Target AreaThe bar chart shows the most popular targeted areas for business investment based on the median AUM of funds with particular areas targeted for investment. The X-axis shows targeted investment areas for funds, the Y-axis shows the median AUM of funds with particular areas targeted for investment.




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Crypto Funds ROIs

Basically, information on funds’ ROI is even less publicly available than information on assets under management. Only 8% of funds are willing to disclose information on their ROI.

The 8% of funds that disclosed such information in 2018 showed a much lower yield than in 2017, with a median ROI of 14% in 2018 in comparison to a median ROI of 600% in 2017.

Low publicity

Low yield


16Crypto Funds Market Research

icorating.com

Have a question or want to learn more about market dynamics?Contact us.

You can also subscribe to our weekly market updates at icorating.com and receive fresh market info every week.

The Rating Agency for the ICO Market

Secondary Contact: Steven Campbell Sales & Partnerships Manager+1 646 943 0806 [email protected] York City

Primary Contact:Mikhail MironovHead of Partnerships+31 6 [email protected]



mailto:mailto:steven.campbell%40icorating.com?subject=

mailto:[email protected]



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ICO Market Crto nds 1 Crypto Funds Market Research · in-house analysts Our main aim is to create transparency in the market and provide investors with the tools they need to make