The cryptocurrency market has seen a surge in the promotion of crowdfunding events since the launch of the first ICO campaign in 2013. There has been a huge influx of ICO projects that have been released into the market. Early investors of Bitcoin have now made huge profits.

More often than not, tokens and cryptocurrencies are seen as a store of value. Like any other commodity, their value can increase or decrease. Then how is it beneficial to participate in ICO token sale ?

When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, the value of one coin was $0.008. Within 5 days, the price rose 1000%. Over the years, Bitcoin has seen an exceptional increase in its value.

Imagine being one of the early investors of Bitcoin with just 1 BTC stored in a wallet, and seeing its price growing. Although the value of Bitcoin is around $3,800 today, it was at its all time high in December 2017, when one 1 BTC was priced at $19,783.21. Needless to say, the return on investment would have been exceedingly large then, in December 2017, and it is even today.

Ethereum is another good example of tokens with significant interest capitalization post their release into the market. Ethereum was traded at US$ 2.83 per ether in August 2015 and its price grew to US$ 414.76 per ether in June 2017.

There are many other ICO token exchange platforms that have shown potential for great ROI, and many other upcoming ICO projects look promising and legitimate. The question that may come to your mind is what kind of returns can you expect from an ICO project and how long do you have to wait to get the desired profit.

The reason why ICO projects are created is to provide an updated proof of how the blockchain technology can solve real-world problems and make things better and easier for people. How people understand the underlying concept of an ICO serves as the deciding factor to choose whether to invest in an ICO or not.

The profits that can individual can make by investing in an ICO are categorized into the following two categories:

Short term

This includes purchasing tokens during the pre-sale and main sale, and once the tokens are listed on ICO token exchange, they are sold and profits are made. Investors, who missed the opportunity to invest in early token sale can benefit from this type of investment and buy the tokens at a cheaper rate. Reason being, most ICO projects offer lucrative incentives to their early investors and these investors can make the most of the bonus as well as entry point market capitalization of the ICO when it is released into the market.

Long term

There are many investors who choose to hold their tokens for a longer period of time and wait till the time the full measure of a project’s potential is attained. This type of investment benefits investors who have hypothetical inclination to bullish returns to make profits. Most investors who follow this approach to hold onto their tokens for a longer period are more likely to make money from day-to-day crypto trading activities.

All that being said, it is also important to mention that not every ICO token sale brings the desired benefits. Most projects, despite their genuine intention to meet public expectations, fail because of low pool of investors. Others are unable to maintain a steady market value and they fail to hold their value in the long run, which turns down other potential investors.

Here are a few things to look for in an ICO project to determine if it is legitimate and worth investing in:

• The quality of ICO project

• The development team and their profiles

• A well-defined roadmap

• Whitepaper

On a final note, legitimate and successful ICO projects have the potential to offer higher return on investment. Although there is no sure shot way to find out if an ICO will be successful or not, its success can be foreseen to an extent by considering aforementioned pointers. Stay up-to-date with the latest ICO news and trends to make an informed investment decision and let your investment earn you desired profit.