Abstract
Start-ups in the blockchain context generate millions by means of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Many of these crowdfunding endeavours are very successful, others are not. However, despite the increasing investments in ICOs, there is still neither sufficient theoretical knowledge nor a comprehensive understanding of the different types of business models and the implications for these token-based ecosystems. Scientific research equally lacks a thorough understanding of the different business model forms and their influence on collaboration in token-based economies. We bridge this gap by presenting a taxonomy of real-world blockchain-based start-ups. For this taxonomy, we used 195 start-ups and performed a cluster-analysis in order to identify three different archetypes and thus gain a deeper understanding. Our taxonomy and the archetypes can equally be seen as strategic guidance for practitioners as well as a starting point for future research concerning the token-based business models.
Highlights
The start-up community successfully generated on average more than 11.5 million dollars worldwide by means of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) in 2018, there is still a lack of understanding about the consequences and implications of these token-based ecosystems
We develop a taxonomy of tokenbased ecosystems
Digital tokens can be used as a value unit that an ecosystem creates “to self-govern its business model, and empower its users to interact with its products, while facilitating the distribution and sharing of rewards and benefits to all of its stakeholders” (Mougayar 2017)
Summary
The start-up community successfully generated on average more than 11.5 million dollars worldwide (bitcoinexchangeguide 2018) by means of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) in 2018, there is still a lack of understanding about the consequences and implications of these token-based ecosystems. Created in combination with a blockchain-based platform offer more opportunities than financing the business development of the company, as the token can be used as a separate currency within the platform (Ehrsam 2016). They are an essential part and digital asset of the platform and build the foundation for new kinds of ecosystems. Digital tokens can be used as a value unit that an ecosystem creates “to self-govern its business model, and empower its users to interact with its products, while facilitating the distribution and sharing of rewards and benefits to all of its stakeholders” (Mougayar 2017) This new funding method is referred to as an ICO. Don’t slip on the initial coin offerings (ICO) – A Taxonomy for a blockchain-enabled form of crowdfunding
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