Raising capital by your tokens issue - blockchain technology may disrupt fundraising as you know it. Thousands of projects have already raised billions of dollars through ICO. Why might yours be next?

What will you find in the article?

What is the intial coin offering?
Advatages of ICO
How do ICOs work?
Launching ICO step by step
Different structure models of ICO
ICO vs IPO
STO vs ICO

Most technology startups have limited options when it comes to fundraising. They can either raise a seed round from private investors, pitch a VC fund, or start a crowdfunding campaign.

But if your project is blockchain-based, entirely new possibilities emerge, among them, you can find an initial coin offering (ICO). With ICO, you can issue your own utility tokens to be used in the network you want to create. As it grows, the demand for tokens increases, the same as their price, bringing profits to early investors.

An initial coin offering - ICO is a blockchain industry equivalent of IPO (Initial Public Offering). Find why issuing tokens may be the best way to raise funds for your project.

What is the initial coin offering?

Among STO and IDO, initial coin offering is one of the fundraising methods brought to life thanks to Blockchain technology. Essentially, an initial coin offering regards raising funds for a project by issuing new cryptocurrency where new blockchain-based projects mint and sell new tokens in exchange for other digital assets or fiat money.

Eventually, those token will have a specific utility on the platform built for funds raised during the ICO. For example, they may be exchanged for products or services of the company. In other cases, they become governance tokens that allow investors to vote to shape the project’s future.

How did it start?

Everything started in 2013 with Mastercoin’s initial coin offering that raised approximately 5 million dollars. The Mastercoin launch was quickly followed by Ethereum. Yes, that’s right - one of the most influential technology projects of this decade was funded via an initial coin offering. During Ethereum's ICO, creators raised 18 million dollars. To this day, Ethereum remains one of the most successful ICOs.

Yet, those 18 million sounds like nothing, compared to the 4 billion raised by EOS in several rounds during 2018-2019. It was the largest ICO to date.

Democratization of fundraising

But initial coin offering (ICO) isn’t all about big projects with enormous capital for fundraising campaigns. Their main advantage over IPO is allowing also smaller startups to arrange a successful funding round.

Advantages of initial coin offerings

Speed

Quick access to funding at a seed stage. Conducting an ICO campaign can be a matter of just a few weeks.

Fewer legal requirements

ICOs are far less regulated than any other fundraising method. Hence they require minimal bureaucracy.

Your project, your equity

During ICO, you can raise funds without loss of equity.

Community

Your ICO investors will create a strong community, willing to test and even promote the project.

Liquidity

Global markets, where your tokens will be sold, operate 24/7.

Fundraising without borders

Contrary to a public offering, your tokens will be sold on a global market, which means that the campaign doesn’t have to be restricted to one jurisdiction. Anyone with a crypto wallet can buy them.

How do ICOs work?

Essentially, launching initial coin offerings means issuing your own tokens that will have a specific utility in your project. That’s why they are named Utility Tokens. You can read more about different token types in this article. Contrary to a securities offering, ICO doesn’t grant investors shares of the company. Instead, they distribute tokens with a specific utility in the project that will be built for raised funds.

To raise money through initial coin offering, startups usually start with creating a white paper. This is a document that describes the project and its goals, providing investors with information that may help them decide whether they want to participate.

During the ICO process, investors buy tokens with other cryptocurrencies or fiat money. If the funding requirements are met, raised capital will support the creation of the project. If they aren’t, they may be returned to investors. It depends on chosen structure model.

Different structure models of ICO

Initial coin offerings may be structured in various ways. In some examples, tokens sold during ICO have a fixed price and specified limited supply. In contrast, others limit the supply but leave the token price dynamic, which means that fundraising will depend on the amount of raised funds.

There are also initial coin offerings that set a static price of token and dynamic token supply that depends on the amount of funding received.

ICO and federal securities laws

It’s important to note that currently, in the majority of jurisdictions, ICOs remain largely unregulated. This means that they are far less restricted than IPOs or even STOs.

Essentially, most tokens issued during ICO aren’t treated as securities because they don’t represent any equity in the project. Instead, they have a certain utility in their network.

How to raise capital via ICO?

In the whole initial coin offering process, the following stages can be distinguished:

Make sure your project needs ICO

A brief disclaimer: not every company qualifies for ICO. And even if it does, there may be better alternatives.

ICO isn’t a universal solution that will suit every project. Many factors should be taken into consideration before choosing it.

First of all, initial coin offerings work best for blockchain-based projects. There are many good ICOs out right now; hence the competition for the attention of investors is high. If your project uses unnecessary tokens and doesn’t back them with attractive utility, investors probably won’t be interested in putting their funds into it.

Yet, the crypto industry offers more solutions that support fundraising. Some of them, as STO, are also suitable for non-blockchain projects.

Get to know the local law

ICOs are a relatively new fundraising solution. Hence many countries still haven’t developed a clear legal framework for them.

So far, only China and South Korea have banned ICOs. Yet, you have to be aware that in some jurisdictions launching your private ICO will be much easier than in others. You can find more information regarding this issue in our article: The 5 most popular jurisdictions for your company’s tokenization.

Create a distribution plan

The plan will depend on your primary requirements and assumptions. For instance, there may be different stages of the token sale before you get to the actual initial coin offering. For example, Telegram managed to raise $850 million during the pre-sale only.

At this stage, you have to decide which of the previously mentioned models you will choose? Is the price going to be stable or rather dynamic? What about the supply? Moreover, you should determine how many of them will be sold at each stage of the token sale.

Choose the right technology

This may sound trivial, but the right technology solutions are the backbone of your ICO’s success. There are several universally required technologies, among them blockchain, smart contracts, tokens, and solid back-end and security infrastructure.

When it comes to blockchain, the majority of the companies decide to use established, well-known protocols. In most cases, it’s Ethereum. Launching an ICO on your own blockchain is possible and can sometimes be observed in the industry. Yet, it’s time and cost-consuming. Additionally, for the majority of projects, there is no need to do so.

White paper

A white paper is a document that describes the project and explains its goals in almost every possible detail. It’s aimed to provide potential investors with the information needed to decide whether they want to participate. This includes:

Vision
Market analysis
Goals
Available resources
Development strategy
Legal frames
Details regarding token and its distribution
Description of the team

Not sure how to write a proper white paper? Our consultants will gladly guide you through the whole process.

Website creation

You need to face that your project will be judged mainly by the content and appearance of its website. It has to contain clear information about your team, aims, and measures to protect investors’ interests.

Before ICO launch, the website should also feature a token sale landing page. Remember about approachable UX here.

ICO vs. IPO

The main difference between IPO and ICO lies in equity. During ICO, owners don’t have to give up a part of their equity in exchange for funds, as they do with shares in the case of IPO. Instead, they issue tokens that will have a utility in their project. Therefore, ICO is mainly used for blockchain-based projects.

Because during the ICO no equities are sold, there are fewer restrictions regarding ICOs than IPOs. For example, most ICOs don't fall under securities law. Thus, they require less bureaucracy and are more suitable for seed-stage startups. Furthermore, investing in ICO tokens isn't restricted to accredited investors, as it happens with IPO.

ICO vs. STO: main differences

There are different types of token offerings out there. One of the most important is the slightly younger STO - security token offering. Here instead of utility tokens, security tokens are issued. This means that their value is backed by real assets - for example, shares in the company or real estate. You can read more about security tokens in this article.

The main advantage of STO is that they are suitable for various projects, not only blockchain-based ones. In this way, you can even tokenize alternative assets, such as cars or precious metals.

On the other hand, because tokens represent specific equity, they are treated as securities. And this means far more legal restrictions.

What is ICO? - Conclusion

Initial coin offerings are an excellent opportunity for seed-stage startups to raise capital for further development. During the past 6 years, billions of dollars have been raised using ICO, funding such projects as Telegram or Ethereum. At the same time investing in ICO gained tremendous popularity, even outside the crypto community.

Yet as with every solution, they aren’t free from limitations. While from a technology perspective process is getting easier every year, more and more legal restrictions emerge. Furthermore, because of several ICO projects, reaching investors now requires a well-planned marketing strategy.

Are you interested in launching your own ICO, but you are not sure if your team will manage to fulfill all the requirements? After conducting one of the first tokenizations globally and many other ICOs, we may say that we know the ropes of successful tokenization. Hence, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

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?

Table of Contents

AI vs. Tradition: Key Implementations of AI in Real Estate
Integration of AI with Blockchain in Real Estate
The Future of AI in Real Estate: Trends and Forecasts
Conclusion

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.

The Future of AI in Real Estate: Trends and Forecasts

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

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

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AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

Gracjan Prusik

11 Mar 2025

AI-Driven Frontend Automation: Elevating Developer Productivity to New Heights

AI Revolution in the Frontend Developer's Workshop

In today's world, programming without AI support means giving up a powerful tool that radically increases a developer's productivity and efficiency. For the modern developer, AI in frontend automation is not just a curiosity, but a key tool that enhances productivity. From automatically generating components, to refactoring, and testing – AI tools are fundamentally changing our daily work, allowing us to focus on the creative aspects of programming instead of the tedious task of writing repetitive code. In this article, I will show how these tools are most commonly used to work faster, smarter, and with greater satisfaction.

This post kicks off a series dedicated to the use of AI in frontend automation, where we will analyze and discuss specific tools, techniques, and practical use cases of AI that help developers in their everyday tasks.

AI in Frontend Automation – How It Helps with Code Refactoring

One of the most common uses of AI is improving code quality and finding errors. These tools can analyze code and suggest optimizations. As a result, we will be able to write code much faster and significantly reduce the risk of human error.

How AI Saves Us from Frustrating Bugs

Imagine this situation: you spend hours debugging an application, not understanding why data isn't being fetched. Everything seems correct, the syntax is fine, yet something isn't working. Often, the problem lies in small details that are hard to catch when reviewing the code.

Let’s take a look at an example:

function fetchData() {
    fetch("htts://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts")
      .then((response) => response.json())
      .then((data) => console.log(data))
      .catch((error) => console.error(error));
}

At first glance, the code looks correct. However, upon running it, no data is retrieved. Why? There’s a typo in the URL – "htts" instead of "https." This is a classic example of an error that could cost a developer hours of frustrating debugging.

When we ask AI to refactor this code, not only will we receive a more readable version using newer patterns (async/await), but also – and most importantly – AI will automatically detect and fix the typo in the URL:

async function fetchPosts() {
    try {
      const response = await fetch(
        "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts"
      );
      const data = await response.json();
      console.log(data);
    } catch (error) {
      console.error(error);
    }
}

How AI in Frontend Automation Speeds Up UI Creation

One of the most obvious applications of AI in frontend development is generating UI components. Tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude can generate component code based on a short description or an image provided to them.

With these tools, we can create complex user interfaces in just a few seconds. Generating a complete, functional UI component often takes less than a minute. Furthermore, the generated code is typically error-free, includes appropriate animations, and is fully responsive, adapting to different screen sizes. It is important to describe exactly what we expect.

Here’s a view generated by Claude after entering the request: “Based on the loaded data, display posts. The page should be responsive. The main colors are: #CCFF89, #151515, and #E4E4E4.”

AI in Code Analysis and Understanding

AI can analyze existing code and help understand it, which is particularly useful in large, complex projects or code written by someone else.

Example: Generating a summary of a function's behavior

Let’s assume we have a function for processing user data, the workings of which we don’t understand at first glance. AI can analyze the code and generate a readable explanation:

function processUserData(users) {
  return users
    .filter(user => user.isActive) // Checks the `isActive` value for each user and keeps only the objects where `isActive` is true
    .map(user => ({ 
      id: user.id, // Retrieves the `id` value from each user object
      name: `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`, // Creates a new string by combining `firstName` and `lastName`
      email: user.email.toLowerCase(), // Converts the email address to lowercase
    }));
}

In this case, AI not only summarizes the code's functionality but also breaks down individual operations into easier-to-understand segments.

AI in Frontend Automation – Translations and Error Detection

Every frontend developer knows that programming isn’t just about creatively building interfaces—it also involves many repetitive, tedious tasks. One of these is implementing translations for multilingual applications (i18n). Adding translations for each key in JSON files and then verifying them can be time-consuming and error-prone.

However, AI can significantly speed up this process. Using ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or Claude allows for automatic generation of translations for the user interface, as well as detecting linguistic and stylistic errors.

Example:

We have a translation file in JSON format:

{
  "welcome_message": "Welcome to our application!",
  "logout_button": "Log out",
  "error_message": "Something went wrong. Please try again later."
}

AI can automatically generate its Polish version:

{
  "welcome_message": "Witaj w naszej aplikacji!",
  "logout_button": "Wyloguj się",
  "error_message": "Coś poszło nie tak. Spróbuj ponownie później."
}

Moreover, AI can detect spelling errors or inconsistencies in translations. For example, if one part of the application uses "Log out" and another says "Exit," AI can suggest unifying the terminology.

This type of automation not only saves time but also minimizes the risk of human errors. And this is just one example – AI also assists in generating documentation, writing tests, and optimizing performance, which we will discuss in upcoming articles.

Summary

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way frontend developers work daily. From generating components and refactoring code to detecting errors, automating testing, and documentation—AI significantly accelerates and streamlines the development process. Without these tools, we would lose a lot of valuable time, which we certainly want to avoid.

In the next parts of this series, we will cover topics such as:

How does AI speed up UI component creation? A review of techniques and tools
Automated frontend code refactoring – how AI improves code quality
Code review with AI – which tools help analyze code?

Stay tuned to keep up with the latest insights!