The phenomenon of a blockchain use case called initial coin offering (ICO) is drawing increasing attention as a novel funding mechanism. ICO is a crowdfunding type that utilizes blockchain tokens to allow for truly peer-to-peer investments. Although more than $7bn has been raised globally via ICOs as at 2018, the concept and its implications are not yet entirely understood. The research lags behind in providing in-depth analyses of ICO designs and their long-term success. We address this research gap by developing an ICO taxonomy, applying a cluster analysis to identify prevailing ICO archetypes, and providing an outlook on the token value market performance for individual archetypes. We identify five ICO design archetypes and display their secondary market development from both a short-term and a long-term perspective. We contribute to an in-depth understanding of ICOs and their implications. Further, we offer practitioners tangible design and success indications for future ICOs.

称为首次代币发行 (ICO) 的区块链用例现象作为一种新颖的融资机制正引起越来越多的关注。ICO 是一种众筹类型，它利用区块链代币进行真正的点对点投资。尽管截至 2018 年，全球已通过 ICO 筹集了超过 70 亿美元，但其概念及其影响尚未完全清楚。该研究在提供对 ICO 设计及其长期成功的深入分析方面落后。我们通过开发 ICO 分类法、应用聚类分析来识别流行的 ICO 原型，并提供对单个原型的代币价值市场表现的展望来解决这一研究空白。我们确定了五种 ICO 设计原型，并从短期和长期的角度展示了它们的二级市场发展。我们有助于深入了解 ICO 及其影响。此外，我们为从业者提供了未来 ICO 的有形设计和成功迹象。