What is an IEO?

An Initial Exchange Offering, as its name suggests, is conducted on the platform of a cryptocurrency exchange. Contrary to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), an IEO is administered by a crypto exchange on behalf of the startup that seeks to raise funds with its newly issued tokens.

An IEO is still technically a form of ICO, but the main difference lies in where the coin or token is offered. As you might be able to guess from its name, an IEO offers tokens through a partnering exchange, rather than directly to investors.

In a public ICO, just about anyone can participate, but in an IEO only members of that given exchange can purchase the tokens. That said, there’s little stopping you from joining an exchange if you’re interested in a specific coin due to be released, so there aren’t really creating any hurdles for the average retail investor.

As the token sale is conducted on the exchange’s platform, token issuers have to pay a listing fee along with a percentage of the tokens sold during the IEO. In return, the tokens of the crypto startups are sold on the exchange’s platforms, and their coins are listed after the IEO is over. As the cryptocurrency exchange takes a percentage of the tokens sold by the startup, the exchange is incentivized to help with the token issuer’s marketing operations.

IEO participants do not send contributions to a smart contract, such as governs an ICO. Instead, they have to create an account on the exchange’s platform where the IEO is conducted. The contributors then fund their exchange wallets with coins and use those funds to buy the fundraising company’s tokens.

ICO is the most popular fundraising method in the crypto sector today, but it’s closely followed by STO and IEO. An Initial Exchange Offering is carried out through crypto platforms and exchanges. Unlike ICOs where crypto projects get to approach investors directly, IEOs always involve a third-party crypto exchange.

In fact, in IEOs it’s the crypto exchanges that raise funds on behalf of startups. They need to meet the necessary commitments and perform due diligence. Projects that decide to conduct a token sale on the exchange platform will have to pay the platform a listing fee.

Note that IEOs don’t offer crypto tokens to open public. Only the users of the exchange platform can participate in an IEO event.

Advantages of IEOs
    They’re trustworthy
    They’re secure
    They’re easy to use
Challenges of IEOs
    It’s expensive
    Exchanges are strict
    Transparency
    Minimum holdings
Conclusion
IEOs are less likely to fail than ICOs. But just because they’re safer than ICOs, it doesn’t mean they’re bulletproof. That’s why you need to make a careful choice when investing in an IEO. Even if the exchange platform has vetted the project and has hosted successful IEOs before, it’s essential that you do your homework as well.

So, research the project, check the team, and look into their track record. See whether there is a place in the market for the project and make sure that the project has realistic use cases. Doing that is essential to ensure that your investment in an IEO is successful.