RE: The Curious Case of the Mercury Protocol
It's not just Mercury. ICOs raised 800M in Sept, a record. Oct. projections are closer to $200M, a severe correction. This owes perhaps to lower performance from ICOs; if true, October's returns will be even lower (judging by TokenData) and I don't expect us to rebound to late-summer, early fall 2017 #'s anytime soon. Many of those throwing ICOs in Oct. have been surprised by lack of interest. The BTC fork is not helping with many investors staying locked in Bitcoin until Nov 16 (B2X). Yes the crypto-investor community is not the most rational and makes most decisions based on social proof. ICO's be warned: the old, build it (the ICO), and they will come is over. Crypto co's cannot take it for granted; like it or not, co's have to revisit their assumptions and redouble their marketing efforts.
"Yes the crypto-investor community is not the most rational and makes most decisions based on social proof."
I tend to agree with the first part, although with the big money coming in that is less philosophically aligned with the early adopters of bitcoin, we'll see more rational markets soon enough. The days when a small cadre of BTC maximalists can move markets from a few r/bitcoin posts (shadowbanning those who disagree) are coming to an end.
I think build it, and they will come is just starting in ICO world.