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Obligatory Disclaimer: To modify a quote from Tim Ferris, “I am NOT a financial advisor, and none of this advice should be taken without speaking to a qualified professional first. Also, my results [are most likely] due to pure luck and zero skill.” But…this is working for me.

On the eve of Vinny Lingham’s Civic tokensale, I’m looking at the stats of the past few ICOs and reflecting on where we’ve been, and where we could be going.

Take a quick look at those graphs. It’s quite easy to see why critics of Ethereum and its ICOs are preaching “The Bubble-Bust is Coming!”

Earlier today, the Status ICO was over in minutes and had around 10,000 unconfirmed transactions when the dust settled — worth around 450,000 ETH, or ~$157.95 million. This is hardly news. With each new ICO, an incredible new record is set, and odds are that trend will continue.

The madness that is Ethereum ICOs will continue until the SEC gets involved and busts everyone’s bubble, or until we self-regulate. Thanks to Vinny and the team at Civic.com, the Ethereum community is striving to do just that: self-regulate.

To date, Ethereum ICOs have been simple. The company says “new ICO coming soon!” Their Slack or Telegram channels explode with people acting like it’s Black Friday. The day comes, Whales close down the sale in minutes, the network is overloaded, and the media panics. All this could end tomorrow.

Civic is bending over backwards to be a truly decentralized tokensale. That is, they want everyone to have a chance at investing with them, whether that be $100 or $25,000. When you register for the ICO (which you can do here), you’re asked how much you plan to invest. They’ve broken these answers down into tiers. If you want to invest $25,000 or more, you’ll have to wait your turn. If you want to invest as little as $100, no big deal! You’re more than welcome.

By using these rules (and others, which you can find on their site or Telegram channel), Civic is attempting to reduce overload, make sure their token is distributed well, and remain transparent to the Ethereum community. Vinny and his team are setting the bar high, and I believe this is the best possible future for ICOs.

Obviously I can’t see into the future. In 13 hours Civic’s tokensale could be off the charts, and the network could crash. But there is a high chance that won’t happen. Vinny and his team may not set a jaw-dropping record tomorrow for $59,834,987,345 raised in 2.62 seconds, and in my opinion, that will make their ICO truly successful.

The goal here is for Civic to raise funds, yes. But the bigger goal, the one we should all be applauding, is the effort that’s being made to ensure ICOs are open to all, fair, and self-regulated. That is the true spirit of decentralization, after all.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, I want Vinny Lingham and his team to know that I’m proud of the massive time and effort they’re putting into making this an incredible ICO. They’re doing the Ethereum community a huge service.

If you haven’t checked Civic out already, do so quickly! The ICO begins tomorrow June 21, 2017 at 9am EDT.

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