What is an Initial DEX Offering (IDO)

Propel
2 min readFeb 5, 2023

--

An IDO stands for Initial DEX Offering, it is a way for projects to raise funds by listing their tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and selling them directly to the public.

IDO provides financial freedom to both the investor and developer. During an IDO, an issuer distributes IDO coins through a decentralized liquidity platform. This platform uses liquidity pools, a collection of funds locked in a smart contract, to enable the trade of tokens. IDOs are typically done on Ethereum-based DEXs such as Uniswap, Sushiswap, and PancakeSwap.

What is the process of IDO?

The process of an IDO typically involves the following steps:

  1. The project team creates a new token contract on the Ethereum blockchain, and mints a certain number of tokens.
  2. The project team sets a fixed exchange rate between the new token and ETH or any other native chain token.
  3. The project team promotes the IDO and invites the public to participate in the sale.
  4. Participants send ether to the token contract during the designated sale period, and in exchange, they receive the new tokens at the fixed exchange rate.
  5. After the sale period ends, the new tokens are automatically added to the participants’ wallets and can be traded on DEXs.

Advantages of IDO

  • IDOs allow for more public participation and less influence from centralized entities.
  • IDOs allow projects to raise funds directly from the public, rather than relying on institutional investors or venture capitalists.
  • IDOs allow for tokens to be traded immediately on DEXs.
  • IDOs can provide a way for projects to raise funds without giving up equity or control of the company.
  • IDOs can provide a way for projects with a strong community to raise funds while also building a user base for their platform.

Disadvantages of IDO

  • IDOs are considered high-risk investments, and investors should be aware of the risks and conduct their own research before participating in an IDO.
  • IDOs are not regulated and may be susceptible to fraud and scams.
  • IDOs are highly speculative and the value of the tokens may be highly volatile.
  • There is a potential for market manipulation, wash trading, and other forms of fraudulent activity as IDOs.

--

--

Propel

MaaS(Metaverse as a Service) & DaaS (DeFi as a Service) Infrastructure Provider