Initial Coin Offerings and Entrepreneurial Finance: The Role of Founders’ Characteristics

Abstract : Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a new financing instrument that allows start-ups to sell blockchain-based digital tokens for capital on the internet. This study tests the effects of disclosure of founders’ background information and founding team’s collective human capital on ICO outcomes. We find both the disclosure of founders’ information and founding team’s human capital are associated with better ICO outcomes measured either by the total amount raised or the speed of fundraising. Our results thus highlight the importance of information disclosure and human capital in entrepreneurial finance.