Token sales, often called Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), are exploding in popularity. Seemingly each week a new record is hit with huge sums being raised by alpha-stage projects in almost no time. William Mougayar, an investor, author and blogger, who has been at the forefront of the token sale movement joined us to unpack the most dynamic trend in the blockchain ecosystem. We cover the great promise of token sales in disrupting venture capital and changing how startups are build and grown. We also address the apparent irrationality of valuations and what distinguishes a responsible from a reckless token sale. Topics covered in this episode: The current state of the ICO market Issues with recent ICOs such as BAT, Bancor and Gnosis Why more attention needs to be paid to the relationship between token and application usage How one should think about token valuations Whether we are in a bubble or not How VCs are responding to disruption through ICOs Episode links: Startup Management Blog "The Ultimate Reading List for Blockchain, Token and Cryptocurrency Sources" "Tokenomics – A Business Guide to Token Usage, Utility and Value" Raising Tokens to Build a Company or an Ecosystem? Business Blockchain on Amazon Vitalik Buterin on Token Sale Mechanisms Buyer Beware – AVC Token Summit YouTube Channel Token Summit Website Thoughts on the Bancor Token Sale This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/188

Our regulatory expert Siân Jones joined us to discuss her work on a regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT) for Gibraltar. We discuss how the framework differs from other efforts and aims to attract rather than curtail blockchain businesses. We also covered why the rapid changes require the flexibility of a principle-based approach to regulation. Finally, we discussed current trends around ICOs and how they could be impacted by regulation. Topics covered in this episode: How the Gibraltar DLT Regulatory Framework came about How Gibraltar’s approach differs from others like BitLicense Why a principle-based approach is preferable for technology regulation Why the framework focuses on custodial services, not decentralized protocols The path from proposal to regulation Recent trends in how ICOs are conducted Why principle-based regulation could improve the ICO market Episode links: Proposals for a DLT Regulatory Framework Want To Hold An ICO? CoinList Makes It Easy -- And Legal Thoughts on Tokens by Balaji S. Srinivasan Tezos COINsult This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain and Sébastien Couture. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/186