ICO vs STO

Maciej Zieliński

08 Mar 2022
ICO vs STO

Modern technologies make more and more people try to raise capital in order to make their ideas a reality. The ICO (Initial Coin Offering) and STO (Security Tokens Offerings) methods which we describe below can help with this immensly! The entire acquisition process is based on digital assets, crypto tokens, blockchain technology and smart contracts.

What is Initial Coin Offering (ICO)?

Initial Coin Offering (ICO), is a method of raising capital in the form of cryptocurrency or tokens in order to finance a project. This method is very often used when finalizing blockchain startups. Initial cain offering is equivalent to initial public offering (IPO) in the cryptocurrency industry. A company that wants to raise money to create a new coin, application or service can launch ICO as a way to raise funds. A crypto token is typically created as a currency that matches the currently created ico projects. This means that a project that wants to raise funds for its own idea should create a crypto cain or a token that allows for financial settlements between project developers and investors. This is different from traditional trade markets because it is based on crypto assets and a smart contract that accounts for them.

Place for ICO

Nevetheless, there are many cryptcurrency markets and crypto exchanges which allow token sales and organizing ico projects and initial cain offerings. Interested investors may purchase a preliminary coin offer to receive a new cryptocurrency token issued by the company. These utility tokens are associated with a product or service offered by your company, or may simply represent your participation in a company or project.

How do initial coin offerings work?

When a blockchain project wants to have a sucessful ico and raise coins through that ICO, the first step of the organizers should be to determine how the project can be organized. An ICO can be organized in several different ways, including:

  • Static Price: A company can set a specific financing target or limit, which means that, every token sold in ICO has a fixed price, and the total supply of tokens is fixed.
  • Static Supply and Dynamic Price: ICO may have a static token supply and a dynamic funding goal – that means the amount of money received in the ICO determines the overall price per token.
  • Dynamic supply and static price: Some ICOs have a dynamic supply of tokens, but a fixed price, which means that the amount of funding received is determined by supply of the market.
How do ICO work?

In addition to the structure of ICO, a cryptocurrency project should normally have a white paper which is made available to potential investors through a new token web page. The project promoters use white paper to explain important information related to ICO, namely to present:

  • What is the project about
  • How many virtual tokens are kept by the founders
  • What kind of payments (and currencies) will be accepted
  • How long will the ICO campaign last
  • The demand the project will satisfy after its completion
  • How much funding is needed for the project
  • minimum entry barrier
  • what do we gain access to as part of our investment

The project should present the whitepaper as part of the ICO campaign it creates to encourage enthusiasts and sympathizers to purchase some tokens. Investors can generally use either a fiscal or digital currency, or use other financial instruments to buy new tokens. As part of the capital they have invested, investors enjoy high profitability, along with the benefits of the token, while also helping to achieve the project objective. Let us remember that if the money collected in the ICO is less than the minimum amount required by the ICO criteria, then all money can be returned to the project investors. If the funding requirements are met within a certain period of time, the money collected is spent on the project's objectives. It is worth noting that the investment on the basis of tokens or coins provides anonymous participation in the project.

Who can launch an ICO?

Currently, anyone who has access to the relevant technology can launch a new cryptocurrency (unless it is restricted by national law). Unfortunately, out of all possible ways of financing, ICO is probably one of the easiest forms which can be used to commit fraud. To avoid scams you should:

  • check who is behind a successful ico
  • obtain as much knowledge as possible regarding what a given cryptocurrency token offers
  • find out if we are dealing with a well executed digital campaign
  • obtain information regarding the investment contract
  • analyze the regulatory scrutiny of the project
  • determine whether purchasing a token grants us any ownership rights, or at least fractional ownership

Pros and cons of ICO

Online services can help you generate and acquire cryptocurrency tokens, so your business can consider launching ICO with ease. ICO managers generate tokens according to the terms of the ICO, receive them, and distribute tokens to retail investors. Let us remember that ICO is not strictly regulated by financial bodies such as the SEC, and therefore funds lost as a result of fraud or incompetence may never be recovered. The advantages of ICO are undoubtedly that a company can obtain rapid capital for the development of a project and investors can expect high return rates on their investment.


What is STO (security token offering)?

STO, or Security Token offering, is increasingly important in the financial world. STO is a process in which investors introduce a cryptocurrency coin or token. Such securities or financial instruments have a monetary value and can be traded on STO cryptocurrency exchanges where the information is recorded in public blockchains This process is often seen as a hybrid approach between the initial coin offering (ICO) and the more traditional initial public offering (IPO) for shares.

ICO vs STO: what is STO?

What are security token offers?

The security token offering (STO) is in fact a public event where tokens are sold through cryptocurrency exchanges. Tokens can then be used for trade in real financial assets such as shares. STO were already used in many investment scenarios and are more enthusiasticly perceived by both mainstream and institutional investors.

What is the difference between Initial Coin Offerings and security token offerings?

How do ICO and STO compare to one another? The ICO and the security token offerings (STO) generally follow the same process. They represent the initial distribution of coines related to a particular investment mechanism. However, they differ in the characteristics of the offered token.

STO offers are supported by assets and are fully in line with the legal order. On the other hand, ICO are tool tokens that offer access to a native platform and decentralized applications. ICO tokens are primarily intended for use, not investment. In practice, this means that the entry barrier for ICO is much lower. It is therefore much more likely that they will be offered to the general public. It is much more difficult to start a STO because their ethos is to provide an investment contract while ensuring investment security. This requires much more preparatory work and compliance.

Pros and cons of STO

Here are some of the pros and cons related to STO:

Pros

  • STO are generally seen as less risky investments than ICO and IPO, as they are protected by securities laws. They are also supported by real assets, which means that it is easier for the user to assess whether the token is accurately priced.
  • Initial offers of security tokens are also cheaper because their structure allows for the removal of intermediaries such as banks and brokerage houses.
  • Smart contracts, which are a part of the STO package, also reduce the need for lawyers, making STO a more affordable option.
  • STO are available for trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, providing additional flexibility

Cons related to STO

A huge disadvantage of STO is that non-accredited investors cannot possess them. In the United States, to become an accredited investor, you must earn at least $200 000 per year or have at least $1 million in your bank account. This makes tokens much less available than traditional Blockchain offers.

STO are more expensive than utility tokens due to their regulatory requirements. In addition, unlike similar coins, they are also subject to restrictions on second hand markets.
Moreover, security tokens have a time interlock mechanism. You can only trade STO tokens between qualified investors for a pre-determined period after the STO process is initiated.

ICO VS STO

Both ICO and STO are offers that allow for quick and substantial raising of capital for new blokchain related start-ups. However, both ICO and STO have some advantages and disadvantages which can help you decide which technology you prefer to use. With ICO, access to investments is much easier and simpler than with STO. Unfortunately, STO imposes an obligation to only allow accredited investors to invest in it, which may make raising funds much more complicated. At the same time, STO ensures greater security of the collected funds. Which method is better? It depends on what is more important for us. However, both methods are very popular.

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Master UI Component Creation with AI: The Ultimate Guide for Developers

Gracjan Prusik

24 Mar 2025
Master UI Component Creation with AI: The Ultimate Guide for Developers

Introduction

Modern frontend development is evolving rapidly, and creating UI components with AI tools is helping developers save time while enhancing interface quality. With AI, we can not only speed up the creation of UI components but also improve their quality, optimize styles, and ensure better accessibility.

This article explores how creating UI components with AI is transforming frontend development by saving time and improving workflows. Specifically, we will discuss:

  • Generating components from images,
  • AI for style analysis and optimization,
  • Automatic style conversion and code migration,
  • AI in generating UI animations.

Creating UI Components with AI from Images

One of the interesting applications of AI in frontend development is the ability to generate components from an image. AI can recognize the structure of the interface and generate HTML/CSS or JSX code that matches the provided image. One of the most popular tools for UI creation is Lovable.

For testing, let's see how the tool performs in creating a simple contact form from the page you are currently on, which is Nextrope.

Query:

"Recreate the image I've sent you in Next.js using CSS."

Sample image used in the query:

The result received:

Tworzenie komponentów UI - Wygenerowany widok

Lovable did an excellent job transforming the image into code. The view is fully responsive. It’s important to remember that the more precise the request, the better the AI will replicate the expected view. However, even with a simple command, the tool performed surprisingly well.

Of course, AI has its limitations. It still makes quite a few mistakes. The generated code still requires review and fixes from the developer, but in some cases, the entire process is significantly sped up—correcting the code often takes less time than creating the component from scratch.

Optimizing UI Components with AI Tools for Style Improvements

This problem of inaccurate code reproduction by AI can be partially addressed by using it to analyze and improve styles. Tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Claude are capable of not only generating code but also diagnosing CSS errors and suggesting why a particular style might not be working as expected.

Simple example: Why is the div not centered?

Query: "Why is this div not centered?"

AI analyzes the code and provides the following response:

Problem: The parent container does not have a defined width or display: flex.
Solution: Add the appropriate styles to the parent container.

.parent {
  display: flex;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
}

AI for Automatic Style Conversion and Code Migration in UI Components

AI can assist with style conversion between different technologies, such as transferring code from traditional CSS to Styled Components or Tailwind CSS.

Let's assume we have a style written in traditional CSS:

.button {
  background-color: blue;
  color: white;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  border-radius: 5px;
  transition: background-color 0.3s ease;
}

.button:hover {
  background-color: darkblue;
}

We can use AI for automatic conversion to Styled Components:

import styled from "styled-components";

const Button = styled.button`
  background-color: blue;
  color: white;
  padding: 10px 20px;
  border-radius: 5px;
  transition: background-color 0.3s ease;

  &:hover {
    background-color: darkblue;
  }
`;

export default Button;

AI can also assist in migrating code between frameworks, such as from React to Vue or from CSS to Tailwind.

This makes style migration easier and faster.

How AI Enhances UI Animation Creation

Animations are crucial for enhancing user experience in interfaces, but they are not always provided in the project specification. In such cases, developers have to come up with how the animations should look, which can be time-consuming and require significant creativity. AI, in this context, becomes helpful because it can automatically generate CSS animations or animations using libraries like Framer Motion, saving both time and effort.

Example: Automatically Generated Button Animation

Suppose we need to add a subtle scaling animation to a button but don't have a ready-made animation design. Instead of creating it from scratch, AI can generate the code that meets our needs.

Code generated by AI:

import { motion } from "framer-motion";

const AnimatedButton = () => (
  <motion.button
    whileHover={{ scale: 1.1 }}
    whileTap={{ scale: 0.9 }}
    className="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded-lg"
  >
    Press me
  </motion.button>
);

In this way, AI accelerates the animation creation process, providing developers with a simple and quick option to achieve the desired effect without the need to manually design animations from scratch.

Summary

AI significantly accelerates the creation of UI components. We can generate ready-made components from images, optimize styles, transform code between technologies, and create animations in just a few seconds. Tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Claude and Lovable are a huge help for frontend developers, enabling faster and more efficient work.

In the next part of the series, we will take a look at:

If you want to learn more about how AI is impacting the entire automation of frontend processes and changing the role of developers, check out our blog article: AI in Frontend Automation – How It's Changing the Developer's Job?

Follow us to stay updated!

AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?

Miłosz Mach

18 Mar 2025
AI in Real Estate: How Does It Support the Housing Market?

The digital transformation is reshaping numerous sectors of the economy, and real estate is no exception. By 2025, AI will no longer be a mere gadget but a powerful tool that facilitates customer interactions, streamlines decision-making processes, and optimizes sales operations. Simultaneously, blockchain technology ensures security, transparency, and scalability in transactions. With this article, we launch a series of publications exploring AI in business, focusing today on the application of artificial intelligence within the real estate industry.

AI vs. Tradition: Key Implementations of AI in Real Estate

Designing, selling, and managing properties—traditional methods are increasingly giving way to data-driven decision-making.

Breakthroughs in Customer Service

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are revolutionizing how companies interact with their customers. These tools handle hundreds of inquiries simultaneously, personalize offers, and guide clients through the purchasing process. Implementing AI agents can lead to higher-quality leads for developers and automate responses to most standard customer queries. However, technical challenges in deploying such systems include:

  • Integration with existing real estate databases: Chatbots must have access to up-to-date listings, prices, and availability.
  • Personalization of communication: Systems must adapt their interactions to individual customer needs.
  • Management of industry-specific knowledge: Chatbots require specialized expertise about local real estate markets.

Advanced Data Analysis

Cognitive AI systems utilize deep learning to analyze complex relationships within the real estate market, such as macroeconomic trends, local zoning plans, and user behavior on social media platforms. Deploying such solutions necessitates:

  • Collecting high-quality historical data.
  • Building infrastructure for real-time data processing.
  • Developing appropriate machine learning models.
  • Continuously monitoring and updating models based on new data.

Intelligent Design

Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing architectural design. These advanced algorithms can produce dozens of building design variants that account for site constraints, legal requirements, energy efficiency considerations, and aesthetic preferences.

Optimizing Building Energy Efficiency

Smart building management systems (BMS) leverage AI to optimize energy consumption while maintaining resident comfort. Reinforcement learning algorithms analyze data from temperature, humidity, and air quality sensors to adjust heating, cooling, and ventilation parameters effectively.

Integration of AI with Blockchain in Real Estate

The convergence of AI with blockchain technology opens up new possibilities for the real estate sector. Blockchain is a distributed database where information is stored in immutable "blocks." It ensures transaction security and data transparency while AI analyzes these data points to derive actionable insights. In practice, this means that ownership histories, all transactions, and property modifications are recorded in an unalterable format, with AI aiding in interpreting these records and informing decision-making processes.

AI has the potential to bring significant value to the real estate sector—estimated between $110 billion and $180 billion by experts at McKinsey & Company.

Key development directions over the coming years include:

  • Autonomous negotiation systems: AI agents equipped with game theory strategies capable of conducting complex negotiations.
  • AI in urban planning: Algorithms designed to plan city development and optimize spatial allocation.
  • Property tokenization: Leveraging blockchain technology to divide properties into digital tokens that enable fractional investment opportunities.

Conclusion

For companies today, the question is no longer "if" but "how" to implement AI to maximize benefits and enhance competitiveness. A strategic approach begins with identifying specific business challenges followed by selecting appropriate technologies.

What values could AI potentially bring to your organization?
  • Reduction of operational costs through automation
  • Enhanced customer experience and shorter transaction times
  • Increased accuracy in forecasts and valuations, minimizing business risks
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Want to implement AI in your real estate business?

Nextrope specializes in implementing AI and blockchain solutions tailored to specific business needs. Our expertise allows us to:

  • Create intelligent chatbots that serve customers 24/7
  • Implement analytical systems for property valuation
  • Build secure blockchain solutions for real estate transactions
Schedule a free consultation

Or check out other articles from the "AI in Business" series