Initial Coin Offering, Don't you want to miss the next big thing?

Abstract: Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is an increasingly popular way for new technology ventures to raise funds from the public in recent years. Considering the novelty of ICO, there is a lack of research that investigates the motivational factors of investors who participated in ICO investment. This thesis aims to fill in this research gap by conducting a quantitative study with 239 investors from Vietnam. Building upon theories in stock investment, crowdfunding literature, and insights from interviews with ICO experts, a model was developed to investigate the driving factors of ICO investment decision. The study found that investors are mostly driven by financial rewards from ICO, and also see it as a way to diversify their investment portfolio. Besides, ICO investors are strongly subject to herding effect. They also deem ICO investment as a way to express themselves, and generally have early adopters profile. The results generate important theoretical and empirical implications for ICO project founders and regulatory authorities.