This paper examines whether initial coin offerings (ICOs) are a beneficial form of financing with desirable economic properties. We do so by examining how financing a start-up via an ICO changes the incentives of an entrepreneur to exert effort to reduce cost. An ICO can result in a better or worse alignment of the interests of the entrepreneur and the investors compared with debt and venture capital financing. Notably, an ICO can be the only form of financing that induces optimal effort, and there are projects that should not take place unless they can be financed through an ICO.

中文翻译：

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创业激励和首次代币发行的作用

本文研究了首次代币发行 (ICO) 是否是一种具有理想经济属性的有益融资形式。我们通过研究通过 ICO 为初创企业融资如何改变企业家努力降低成本的动机来做到这一点。与债务和风险资本融资相比，ICO 可能会导致企业家和投资者利益的更好或更差。值得注意的是，ICO 可能是唯一一种能带来最佳努力的融资形式，有些项目除非可以通过 ICO 融资，否则不应进行。