ABSTRACT

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) are one of the major innovations that characterize the digital revolution of financial markets. Among the expectations created by the digital revolution is the democratization of entrepreneurial finance, defined in terms of the creation of more equality regarding the access to financial resources by categories known to be underrepresented among potential entrepreneurs. Following this line of research, we investigate, through two complementary empirical studies, whether gender, ethnicity, and geography affect the choice of ICOs vs. traditional financing alternatives. Additionally, we assess whether these characteristics increase the amount of money an entrepreneur can raise. In Study I, we compare 390 ICO ventures to a sample of 1,078 VC-backed blockchain ventures, identifying a negative correlation between the choice of an ICO (vs. VC-backing) and a location in an urban area. In Study II, we compare 160 ICO ventures to 163 real estate investment trusts (REITs), reaffirming the results of Study I. The findings show significant participation and likelihood of successful campaigns for ethnical minorities in ICOs, with the latter also being able to collect, ceteris paribus, larger amounts of funding. In contrast, female entrepreneurs do not have higher chances to participate nor raise funds in ICOs.

摘要

首次代币发行 (ICO) 是金融市场数字革命的主要创新之一。数字革命创造的期望之一是创业金融的民主化，其定义是在潜在企业家中代表性不足的类别中，在获得金融资源方面创造更多平等。按照这一研究方向，我们通过两项互补的实证研究来调查性别、种族和地理是否会影响 ICO 与传统融资方案的选择。此外，我们评估这些特征是否会增加企业家可以筹集的资金量。在研究 I 中，我们将 390 家 ICO 企业与 1,078 家 VC 支持的区块链企业样本进行比较，确定 ICO 的选择（与 VC 支持）与城市地区的位置之间的负相关。在研究 II 中，我们将 160 家 ICO 企业与 163 家房地产投资信托 (REIT) 进行了比较，重申了研究 I 的结果。研究结果表明，少数族裔在 ICO 中的参与度和成功率很高，后者也能够收集，在其他条件不变的情况下，资金数额较大。相比之下，女性企业家在 ICO 中参与或筹集资金的机会并不高。在其他条件不变的情况下，后者也能够收集到更多的资金。相比之下，女性企业家在 ICO 中参与或筹集资金的机会并不高。在其他条件不变的情况下，后者也能够收集到更多的资金。相比之下，女性企业家在 ICO 中参与或筹集资金的机会并不高。