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Published: May 9, 2018

Token generation is a surefire way by which startups can raise capital directly from end users without having to go through the traditional early seed funding of the venture capital model. This method of raising funds through token sales is popularly known as an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

Launching and sale of tokens through ICOs became popular among blockchain startups around 2015, when various companies were able to raise millions of dollars directly from independent investors in just a few months. Initial Coin Offerings differ from traditional fundraising models, like an IPO.

ICOs sell what are called utility tokens. Although somewhat similar to an IPO’s share, a token’s valuation comes from the perceived usage of a platform. In other words, tokens offer access to a company’s service, not its profits. Examples of this are FileCoin, who’s tokens can be used to buy disk storage, or Intiva tokens, which grant access to career-related services for healthcare professionals.

Because of the speculative nature of ICOs, launching a (valuable) token is becoming an increasingly difficult task. For this reason, you need to take proper measures when going through the process. This is to ensure you don’t disappoint the community that has placed huge faith in your project by participating in the ICO.

In this article, we’ll be highlighting the most important steps to take when launching a token.


5 Most Important Steps to Take When Launching a Token

First and foremost, launching a token requires a lot of processes: blockchain development, website development, content writing, marketing, numerous stages of testing and debugging, among others. Therefore, if you want your project to be a successful one, you need to gather a team of professionals who know a great deal about their respective industries and have a lot of experience managing similar roles. That being said, there are other equally important steps you need to take, and we’ll be touching upon some in the rest of this article.

Here they are — arranged in no particular order of importance:


1. Create an Amazing and Unique Product

Before launching your token, you should always know that potential investors have literally hundreds of options to choose from. If you want to captivate the minds and attention of members of the crypto community and make them invest in your project, you must have a product that stands out.

With several thousands of tokens created in the blockchain industry, launching a token these days is more than just the “means-of-payment” hype and trading on cryptocurrency exchanges.

More importantly, your product should aim at solving real-world problems, and have clearly-defined use cases.

A token should be dedicated to revolutionizing a particular sector of the economy and improving quality of life.


2. Develop the Token

After you’ve developed your product, the next step would be to develop a token that will facilitate the operations of the whole project. Tokens are created on a blockchain network, and there are various standards and parameters for token development. The most popular of these is the ERC-20 token standard, which is the standard for all tokens created on the Ethereum blockchain.


3. Write a Detailed Whitepaper:

Basically, a whitepaper should explain in detail the problem it’s trying to solve, and also explain to potential investors how your product can solve the outlined problems.

The whitepaper has all the details of the internal workings of a blockchain project and how the token will be utilized on the blockchain, along with other data like blockchain governance, preferred consensus algorithm and token information. Your whitepaper should contain all the technical information about the project, information about the token, and the team profile.

A blockchain project should give you all the information you need to make a decision regarding the purchase of its token, in the whitepaper. Check out Intiva Health’s whitepaper for an idea of what one looks like.


4. Obtain Legal Backing

Before you launch your token, it is very important that you obtain legal counsel. Your legal team will help you classify your token as either a utility or a security token.

Without proper classification of your token, you may run into problems with the SEC. That is why it’s important to have a good legal team if you want your token launch to be a success. This also helps to prevent legal problems and lawsuits in the future.


5. Build a Large Community of Passionate Users

Building an active community will not only help educate potential investors on your project, but also help spread news about your roadmap and the benefits of buying into your project.

Creating an active community will contribute largely to the successful launch of your token. One very valuable asset that many tokens do not have, is to have someone in your company extremely involved in the media, conferences, fireside chats and on social media. Let them be the voice and the face of your token so the community knows that there are real people behind your token.

If you follow all these steps religiously, you won’t have to wait long before your blockchain project starts attracting investors — the right ones.

There’s no surefire recipe towards a successful token launch, but following on a few of these crucial steps should win you half the battle. Always plan for the unexpected and keep your eye on the markets. The coming year should be pivotal in the way of regulation, and the shifting definitions of financial and governance structures within the cryptocurrency space.

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