Trips will do an IMO (not an ICO)

Once upon a time there was Bitcoin.
A technology that since its birth had decentralized distribution in its DNA thanks to the Mining system.
Bitcoins were not, and still are not, issued by a central body.

Then ICOs arrived, which, from the point of view of decentralization, have taken a big step back: all tokens are issued by a centralized body (foundation or company), which sells part of it and keeps all the rest.

The rest is assigned to various aspects of the project: marketing, development and so on. But it is still in the hands of the central body.

After an ICO, the central body still has 100% of the (not) produced wealth.

Let me explain: if the tokens issued are 100 million and 20 million are sold in the ICO, the central body has 20 million in the form of ETH (or BTC or Fiat) and 80 million in the form of tokens.

At that point, ideally a process of decentralization begins, during which the 80 million tokens are put on the market, but, as during the ICO, the central body exchanges token for ETH (or other).

The issuer therefore always has everything in its hands, at least until spending begins.

With this I do not mean that ICOs are fundamentally non-functional, but that there is an enormous room for improvement on the road to decentralization.

Is there an objective problem? Probably yes, if Vitalik is puzzling to improve ICOs and, for example, proposed a possible solution in DAICOs.

And are there other ways to create decentralized projects from the beginning?

Yes: IMOs.

IMOs: Initial Mining Offering

IMOs are a fundraising system based on Ethereum in which only a part of the tokens are pre-mined and the rest is mined just like Bitcoins but on the Ethereum network.

They have been proposed by 0xBitcoin “the mined bitcoin-like token for Ethereum” .

0xBitcoin is not an ICO, but an Open Source project that provides software for those who want to implement an IMO.

They do have a token but this aspect is not relevant for those wishing to use their software.

Trips will launch an IMO.
For us, decentralization is not just a feel-good concept on which to make an ICO, but a value deeply shared in the Community.

We are therefore very interested in solutions that allow us a real decentralization (embedded in the Smart Contract) compared to the theoretical one (declared but to be confirmed).

For this reason we decided to launch an IMO and not an ICO.

What are the advantages of IMOs for our project?

• The vast majority of tokens will be in the hands of the network, not the founders of Trips, as they are now. This leads to greater decentralization from the beginning.
• It is compatible with our current token distribution model to contributor. At the moment the Trips tokens are distributed in exchange for work. With the IMO we will also have the miners.
  It must be said that the work of miners is not needed to keep the network stable and secure (that’s Ethereum’s job) but only to create a fair distribution system.
• It‘s much closer to the original vision of Bitcoin.
  We have always loved the idea of tokens acquiring value organically (as opposed to through speculative sales) and we are trying to encourage the absorption of value of the Trips through one of our alpha projects, called Reservations in which you can already book accommodation in Rome, Milan, Turin, Florence etc … after acquiring Trips in an exchange or collaborating.
• The price will be more organic and less speculative.
• The risks of price dump in the exchange are lower.
  This creates greater confidence in investors.
• Not to be called ICO also has advantages in terms of communication, since for many ICO it is synonymous with scam.
• Sybil Attack Resistant: Greater decentralization means less risk of Sybil attacks (an attack wherein a reputation system is subverted by forging identities)
• More efficient word of mouth: we will be the first IMO in the world.
  This will potentially make it easier to attract the interest of the crypto ecosystem and investors. It will also differentiate us from the many new incoming ICOs.
• The Community will be bigger and more diversified thanks to the presence of Miners.

Conclusion

This choice makes our waters even more troubled than before, as if we were not already in a fairly unpredictable environment.
But knowing that we are aiming for a bigger and fairer goal, gives us even more energy!
We also hope to attract the attention of more and more people wishing to create the basis for a truly decentralized ecosystem.

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