Vitalik Buterin urges investors not to pay more money for bonus tokens in ICOs

The co-founder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, criticized through his Twitter account the ICOs that have bonus structures based on the volume of investment of each user, that is, obtain additional tokens if you invest more.

According to Buterin, volume discounts are against the spirit of cryptocurrencies, which, in principle, aim to promote equality and a more just economy, where wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few. ICOs have been in fashion this year, raising more than US $ 3,000 million for a multitude of projects, from the sale of online tickets to decentralized real estate portals.

During ICOs and token sales, it is common for projects to offer bonuses, which are usually based on time or volume. In general, buyers in the stages prior to the sale or at the beginning of the crowdsale obtain additional tokens in a certain percentage, which continues to decrease as the sale progresses.

Since the ICO of the Ethereum project also had a time-based bonus, a Twitter user responded to Buterin emphasizing this fact, to which Vitalik replied that the time-based bonuses were acceptable, but clarified that he did not agree with everything that was done during the Ethereum ICO in 2014, for example, the absence of blocking periods for the founders.

While the original idea behind the ICOs was to give talented teams good ideas and a way to raise funds without having to face obstacles, it has become a trend in the hand of projects that do not seem to be very successful with traditional collection methods.

In addition, financial transparency, the use of funds and the real merits of the teams working behind these projects have been questioned. Unlike traditional companies or new companies, which are subject to regulation, ICOs are not regulated, and investors can seldom know how the project evolves.