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. 2020 Nov 6;35(1):1–59. doi: 10.1007/s11408-020-00366-0

Table 8.

Determinants of return 270 days after the ICO

Fundraising Business Governance All characteristics Investor base
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Has VC backing

0.501**

(2.29)

0.423*

(1.79)

0.319

(1.39)

0.365

(1.37)

0.712**

(2.47)

Unsold tokens burnt

− 0.019

(− 0.09)

− 0.000

(− 0.00)

− 0.020

(− 0.09)

− 0.066

(− 0.26)

0.555**

(2.15)

Ln(1 + presale amount raised)

− 0.130

(− 1.52)

− 0.259*

(− 1.90)

− 0.183*

(− 1.92)

− 0.406**

(− 2.62)

0.091

(0.66)

Ethereum return

1.244**

(2.56)

0.533

(0.84)

0.804**

(2.04)

0.913**

(2.28)

1.119**

(2.16)

0.647

(0.85)

0.313

(0.42)

Bitcoin return

− 0.721

(− 0.92)

0.155

(0.15)

0.260

(0.39)

0.234

(0.34)

− 0.467

(− 0.59)

0.005

(0.00)

1.711*

(1.74)

Presale discount

− 1.333**

(− 2.19)

− 1.238*

(− 1.81)

Presale lockup period

0.373

(0.35)

− 0.461

(− 0.48)

Product or prototype

0.015

(0.09)

− 0.151

(− 0.74)

− 0.123

(− 0.45)

0.527**

(2.23)

Experienced team

0.183

(1.04)

0.063

(0.29)

0.095

(0.34)

0.680*

(1.97)

High-quality advisory team

0.150

(0.86)

0.280

(1.33)

0.353

(1.37)

0.252

(0.78)

Project code available

0.532***

(3.14)

0.467**

(2.15)

0.312

(0.94)

0.739**

(2.49)

Use of proceeds mentioned

− 0.067

(− 0.33)

0.063

(0.21)

0.060

(0.18)

− 0.048

(− 0.17)

Offshore incorporation

− 0.149

(− 0.62)

0.117

(0.39)

0.018

(0.05)

0.620*

(1.78)

Legal form and jurisdiction known

0.314

(0.90)

0.365

(0.89)

0.035

(0.08)

− 0.401

(− 0.62)

KYC/AML procedure

0.245

(1.18)

0.121

(0.49)

0.248

(0.85)

0.564*

(1.92)

Token share team (ex ante)

0.100

(0.20)

− 0.136

(− 0.22)

− 0.388

(− 0.47)

− 1.542*

(− 1.91)

Team lockup period

0.175*

(1.96)

0.204

(1.62)

0.501***

(3.27)

0.109

(0.66)

Legal advisor disclosed

− 0.013

(− 0.07)

0.061

(0.28)

0.278

(0.98)

0.002

(0.01)

Ln(number of contributors)

0.113

(0.82)

0.003

(0.03)

Ln(median contribution size)

− 0.104

(− 0.53)

− 0.365

(− 1.64)

Month FE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Industry FE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
N 207 108 261 251 199 106 71 70
R2 0.61 0.61 0.60 0.59 0.64 0.66 0.72 0.89

The table shows OLS regressions of ICO returns on ICO characteristics. The dependent variable is the log return based on the average crowdsale price 270 calendar days following the completion of the ICO. If the average price is unavailable, the return is calculated based on the mid-price (average between the maximum and minimum crowdsale price). If an ICO is delisted before 270 days of trading, the return is based on the last price before delisting. All variables are defined in “Appendix 2.” All regressions include seven industry fixed effects. All continuous variables are winsorized at the 1 and 99% level, respectively. One, two and three asterisks indicate statistical significance at the 10, 5 and 1% level, respectively