日常前言

• 工作後第一個金三銀四，算是見識到了。今年開年的時候上頭就一直在說現在是行業寒冬了，大家也都明白，估計獎金什麼的都要大縮水了。本來平時待遇也只是行業中偏下水平，每年就靠獎金平衡收入……emmmmmm於是好多同事走人了，我的導師都跳槽了……
• 本來我們組就人少，現在又走了一個，不知道之後專案壓力會不會變大。希望專案上的 Bug 不要太多，感覺一直陷在解 Bug 的無限迴圈裡對自身能力提升沒多大益處，只不過是把自己變成能熟練解 Bug 的人而已，三五年後可能就沒有多大的競爭力了。如果能抽出一半的時間去學習 Camera HAL 層的一些邏輯和架構的設計，以及深究 3A 之類的底層演算法，我認為不僅會使個人能力飛躍，在專案上完成任務的效率也應能提升不少。
• 其實我也思考過是不是要考慮換個環境了，但是最終還是覺得現在還不是時候。首先是能力還沒有達到我自己設定的目標，現在雖然程式碼實踐能力提升了不少，但架構思維尚未成型，而且演算法方面的功力有所下降。其次現在若是走人，也只能換個同類型的工作，依舊是終日解 Bug，而在目前崗位上所積累下來的東西可能就半途而廢了。最後就是更現實的一點了，我還沒有把握能跳到一個薪資能提高比較多的地方……
• 好吧，迴歸正題，第三期翻譯活動是關於區塊鏈的。其實我自己對區塊鏈並不很感興趣，但既然它現在這麼火爆（雖然有一定的炒作成分），又是關於技術的東西，那當然要了解一下了。
• 對了，上期活動鵝廠又發了兩個獎品，一個哈士企，一個哈士企抱枕……果真鵝廠風範，但是家裡裝不下這麼多周邊啊……

版權相關

A gentle introduction to Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

題目：首次幣發行（ICO）簡介

Some technology startup companies are raising money in a new way, by issuing digital tokens in return for funds. This is often colloquially called “doing an ICO”, and this article aims to explain how this works.

一些科技創業公司正在以新的方式進行融資，他們通過發放數字代幣以換取資金。這種方式俗稱為 “搞個 ICO”，而本文旨在解釋 ICO（Initial Coin Offering） 是如何運作的。

Raising money

（融資）

Traditionally, there are three main ways for a company to raise money:

• Selling shares (the company sells ownership of the company for cash)
• Issuing debt (the company receives cash and promises to pay back the amount borrowed, with interest)
• Pre-selling goods and services (this ranges from customers pre-ordering a book or computer game, to Kickstarter-style crowd funding of to-be-made items or services. Perhaps even package holidays, or aeroplane tickets fall into this category)

傳統上，公司融資主要有三種方式：

• 股權出售（出售公司所有權以獲取資金）
• 發行債券（公司接收資金並承諾會連本帶息歸還）
• 預售商品與服務（包括預訂書籍或電腦遊戲的顧客，以及 Kickstarter 型別的眾籌專案或服務，甚至度假套餐或機票也可能屬於此類範圍中）

Any of the above can be done with a small group of investors or a large group. If it’s a large group, it’s usually called crowdfunding.

上述任何一項都可以由一小群投資者，或由一大群人來完成。如果是後者，則通常稱為眾籌融資（Crowdfunding）。

In each case, it is very clear what investors get in return for their money. In general, the higher the risk to an investor, the greater the regulation of the mechanism. This is for good reason: it is a regulator’s job to prevent con artists from scamming the public too easily.

在每種情況下，投資者獲得的回報都非常明確。通常，投資者的承擔的風險越高，相關機制的監管力度就越大。而這是有充分理由的：監管機構的職責是防止騙子能輕而易舉地欺騙公眾。

Initial Coin Offerings

（首次幣發行）

ICOs are being marketed as a new way for companies / projects / groups of people to raise money, and the characteristics seem to be a hybrid of the traditional methods of fundraising, but currently without regulatory safeguards appropriate to the risk that investors are subject to.

ICO 被推銷為公司/專案/團體融資的新方式，其特點似乎混合了傳統的融資方式，但目前尚未建立適當的監管保障措施以應對投資者所面臨的風險。

How is money raised?

（如何融資？）

ICO funds are usually received in Bitcoins (BTC) or Ether (ETH). The project creates a Bitcoin or Ethereum address for receiving funds and displays it on a web page. This is like opening a bank account, and displaying it on a web page for people to send money to.
（Example: Ethereum’s crowdsale bitcoin address was 36PrZ1KHYMpqSyAQXSG8VwbUiq2EogxLo2.Example: Ethereum’s crowdsale bitcoin address was 36PrZ1KHYMpqSyAQXSG8VwbUiq2EogxLo2.）

ICO 資金通常以比特幣（BTC）或以太幣（ETH）的形式進行收取。需要融資的專案建立一個比特幣或以太坊地址以接收資金，並將其展示在網頁上。這就像開了一個銀行賬戶，並展示在網頁上以供人們匯款。
（例如：以太坊的比特幣眾籌地址是36PrZ1KHYMpqSyAQXSG8VwbUiq2EogxLo2。）

Investors send BTC or ETH to the published address, in return for the new tokens. The project uses the BTC or ETH to pay staff, or sell the cryptocurrency for fiat currency on a cryptocurrency exchange to fund the project.

投資者將比特幣或以太幣傳送到這個已釋出的地址，以換取新的代幣（Tokens）。該專案使用比特幣或以太幣來發薪水，或者在加密貨幣交易所提現以作為這個專案的基金。

Usually the website will also contain some details about what it will use the funds for, and why investors should invest.

通常這個網頁中還會包含一些關於資金用途的細節，以及投資者應該投資的原因。

Where are the new tokens stored?

（新的代幣儲存在何處？）

The tokens issued by the project to investors are generally created and tracked in one of two ways:

• as the intrinsic token of an entirely new blockchain (for example Ethereum was funded by exchanging wallets funded with ETH tokens in exchange for BTC from investors)
• or as a token on top of an existing blockchain
  
  • eg as a Colored coin on Bitcoin’s blockchain
  • or a token held in a smart contract on Ethereum’s blockchain

專案向投資者發行的代幣一般是通過以下兩種方式之一進行建立和追蹤：

• 作為全新區塊鏈本身自有的代幣（例如，以太坊就是通過交換備有以太幣的錢包以換取投資者的比特幣，從而獲得資金）
• 或者作為現有區塊鏈上的代幣：
  
  • 例如，比特幣區塊鏈上的彩色幣（Colored coin）
  • 或者，以太坊區塊鏈上的智慧合約（Smart contract）中所持有的代幣

7 characteristics of an ICO

（ICO 的 7 個特徵）

Each ICO is unique, but below are some of the usual characteristics.

每個 ICO 都是獨一無二的，但下面列出了它們的一些普遍特徵。

Some of these characteristics are shared with traditional methods of fundraising (seed rounds, Series A, B, C, etc). See if you can spot them! However, remember that traditional private company fundraising is regulated in most jurisdictions due to the risks to the investors, whereas currently ICOs aren’t.

其中一些特徵與傳統籌資方法（種子期，A、B、C 輪融資等等）有著共通點，看看你能否發現它們！不過請記住，由於投資者面臨著風險，傳統的私企籌資在大多數司法管轄區都是被監管的，然而目前 ICO 是不被監管的。

1. The project is usually a technology project related to cryptocurrencies or decentralisation. These projects tend to appeal to those investors who are familiar with or already own cryptocurrencies, and so are familiar with how cryptocurrencies work.

1. 通常是與加密貨幣或去中心化有關的技術專案。 這些專案往往會吸引那些熟悉或已經擁有加密貨幣的投資者，因此熟悉加密貨幣的工作方式。

2. Investor documents are usually a webpage, a whitepaper (usually not peer reviewed), and some internet forum posts. Rules or laws that compel funraisers to make accurate statements in documents are often ignored or worked around. Often ICO ‘whitepapers’ (prospectuses) exaggerate benefits, do not identify risks, and create unsubstantiated hype.
（This is different to traditional forms of fundraising where fundraisers attempt to comply with rules and regulations, knowing that investors have recourse if investor documents are wildly inaccurate.）

2. 投資者文件通常是一個網頁、一份白皮書（通常未通過同行評審）和一些網際網路論壇帖子。 強制籌資者在文件中做出準確宣告的條例或法規常常被忽視或繞過。ICO 的 “白皮書”（招股說明書）常常誇大收益，不標明風險，並且製造未經證實的炒作。
（這與傳統的籌資形式不同。傳統籌資時，籌資者會試圖遵守規章制度，因為他們知道，投資者文件非常不準確的情況下，投資者是有追索權的。）

3. Usually identification is light on both sides. Investors often do not need to self-identify; nor do the people running the project. Often the projects will not perform identity checks on investors or the investors’ source of funds to determine if the project is complying with global sanctions, or if they are accidentally laundering the proceeds of crime, or funding terrorism.
（This is different to traditional forms of fundraising, where the identities of investors are usually known or broadly vetted.）

3. 通常雙方的身份都很 “輕”。 投資者一般不需要證明自己的身份，同樣地，運營這個專案的人也不需要。通常這些專案不會對投資者或投資者的資金來源進行檢查，以判定該專案是否符合全球制裁，或者出乎意料地，他們可能正在洗錢或資助恐怖主義。
（這與傳統的籌資形式不同，投資者的身份通常是已知的，或是經過廣泛審查的。）

4. The amount raised is transparent but can be gamed. BTC and ETH payments to a ICO deposit address are logged on public blockchains, allowing anyone to see the quantity and amounts going to an ICO address. Although the amounts invested are transparent, it’s hard to know who sent the funds. This means it is almost impossible to tell if the project itself invests, without disclosure, to give the illusion of popularity and momentum, and create hype and fear of missing out.
（Traditional forms of fundraising share the characteristic of “seeding” the round with big names and commitments, but the investors are known and identified.）

4. 募集的金額是透明的，但其中可能有貓膩。 對 ICO 存款地址支付的每一筆比特幣或以太幣，都記錄在公共區塊鏈中，任何人都能看到有多少數量和金額正投入到 ICO 地址中。儘管投入金額是透明的，但很難知道是誰派出的資金。這意味著，幾乎不可能判斷該專案本身是否有在不披露資訊的情況下進行投資，從而給人以流行和動力的假象，並製造炒作，挑起 “錯失恐懼症”（Fear of missing out）這樣的不良心理。
（傳統的籌資方式具有“播種”大牌和承諾的特點，但投資者是對其有所瞭解並且可驗證的。）

5. Tiering / early investor advantage. Often the crowdsale is offered with tiering, where early investors are offered a better price than later investors. For example, in Ethereum’s initial crowdsale early investors received 2000 ETH per 1 BTC and later investors received only 1337 ETH per 1 BTC. This can be done by creating limited investment opportunities: either time-bound, where the best price is available for the first week; or amount bound, where the best price is available for the first 2,000 BTC invested.
（This is similar to traditional fundraising, where early investors get a better deal than later investors by tiering the company valuation. However, ICOs operate at a different timescale, where price changes can happen in a matter of minutes rather than months for a traditional series of investments.）

5. 分階段/早期投資者優勢。 通常情況下，眾籌是通過分階段提供的，早期投資者比起後期投資者來說，能拿到更優惠的價格。例如，在以太坊最初的眾包中，早期投資者每一個比特幣能收到 2000 個以太幣，而之後的投資者每一個比特幣只能收到 1337 以太幣。這可以通過創造有限的投資機會來做到：要麼是有時限的 —— 在發行的第一週可以拿到最優惠的價格；要麼對數量進行限制 —— 最初投資進來的 2000 個比特幣，都對應著最優惠的價格。
（這與傳統的籌款類似，早期投資者通過分級公司估值比後來的投資者獲得更好的交易。但是，ICO 運作的時間尺度不同，它的價格變動可以在幾分鐘內發生，而非像傳統的一系列投資一樣需要幾個月）

6. Coin retention and price discovery. Usually the project will hold back some tokens (eg, 60% will be sold in the ICO, and the project will retain 40% of the tokens). This gives the project a valuation of their token holdings based on the price of the token ICO multiplied by the number of tokens they retain. Sometimes the project will state how they intend to use these retained coins, eg compensating staff.
（This is similar to traditional investments – the price of an illiquid chunk of equity is usually determined by the company valuation of the most recent funding round.）

6. 自持有的幣，以及市場定價（Price discovery）。通常專案會保留一些代幣（例如，60％ 將在 ICO 中出售，而留下 40% 的代幣給專案本身）。這就使得專案可以用他們所保留的代幣數量去乘以代幣 ICO 的價格，從而對他們所自持的代幣進行估值。有時專案會說明他們打算如何使用這些保留的代幣，例如補償給員工。
（這與傳統投資類似 —— 非流通股權的價格通常取決於公司最近一輪融資的估值。）

7. Minimums and maximums. There are sometimes minimum and maximum total amounts to be raised. If the minimum is not reached, investors are refunded and the project doesn’t continue. When the maximum is reached, no more coins are given out; any additional (late) investments are refunded. With cryptocurrencies this can be done automatically, without the ICO managers needing to know the identity of the investor.

7. 最低總額和最高總額。有時會提出籌資的最低和最高總額。如果達不到最低標準，專案就不會繼續進行下去，而投資者的資金將得到退還。達到最高總額時，就不再發放硬幣，任何在此之後的投資都會被退還。ICO 管理者無需知道投資者的身份，通過加密貨幣，退還操作可以自動完成。

Investor expectations

（投資者預期）

What do investors expect?

投資者所期望的是什麼？

Profit. Although hard to prove, there is an expectation that if the project is successful (loosely defined), the value of the tokens will appreciate and investors can sell the tokens at a profit. It is unclear what proportion of investors buy ICO tokens for their stated use (eg file storage, access to a computer game, or running smart contracts etc).

利潤。 雖然難以證明，但有一種期望是這樣，如果專案成功了（廣義上），代幣將會升值，投資者可以通過售賣代幣獲利。目前尚未清楚購買 ICO 代幣的投資者中，將其用於他們所宣告之用途（例如檔案儲存，登入電腦遊戲，或執行智慧合約等）的，佔比幾何。

This risk/reward profile of an ICO is closer to that of equities than a Kickstarter style rewards-based crowdfund or an Amazon style book pre-order.

ICO 的這種風險/回報概況更接近於股票的風險/回報（比起基於 Kickstarter 式的，基於回饋的眾籌，或者亞馬遜型別的書籍預購來說）。

Liquidity. The expectation is that the tokens will be listed on cryptocurrency exchanges soon after ICO, and often much before the tokens become usable for their stated intent. This provides the secondary market where early investors can sell their tokens.

變現能力。我們所期望的是，這些代幣在 ICO 之後能立即在加密貨幣交易所上市，並且通常是在代幣使用於其闡述的用途之前。這為早期投資者提供了可以出售其代幣的二級市場。

This is different to the Kickstarter / pre-order types of investment where the secondary market doesn’t exist because pre-orders are usually tied to an individual, and the beneficial owner cannot be easily altered.

這與 Kickstarter/預購 型別的投資不同。在這兩種型別情況下，二級市場是不存在的，因為預購通常與個人掛鉤，實益擁有人不會輕易改變。

It’s worth noting that while stock exchanges impose requirements on the companies they list such as periodic public disclosure of financials etc, cryptocurrency exchanges usually do not have any listing requirements, nor are the exchanges obligated to perform any due diligence on project whose coins they are listing. Some cryptocurrency exchanges are happy to list any token (known colloquially as “shitcoins”) because the exchanges make revenues from trading fees, and so are indifferent to the quality of the project or the price going up or down. The cryptocurrency exchange makes money as long as there is price volatility.

值得注意的是，股票交易所對其上市公司是有強制要求（例如定期公開財務狀況等）的，然而加密貨幣交易所則通常沒有任何上市要求（Listing requirements），交易所也沒有義務對其上市貨幣進行任何盡職調查（Due diligence）。有些加密貨幣交易所很樂意上市任何代幣（俗稱為“shitcoins”），因為交易所能通過收取交易費獲利，因此它們對專案質量或價格波動都無動於衷。只要存在價格波動，加密貨幣交易所就能賺錢。

Conclusion

（總結）

There is a disconnect between the phrase ICO (Initial Coin Offering) that deliberately sounds similar to IPO (Initial Public Offering) and the disclaimers associated with these tokens, written in small print, suggesting that the tokens are not an investment or a security. These investment rounds are sometimes called “donations” or “presale tokens” instead of using the “ICO” terminology, in order to disassociate with legally sensitive words and phrases.

ICO（首次幣發行）這一短語與 IPO（首次公開招股）聽起來很相似（這是有意而為之的），並且與這些代幣相關的免責宣告存在脫節（它們以小字型印刷），這表明了代幣不是一種投資（Investment）或證券（Security）。這些投資回合有時被稱為 “捐贈” 或 “預售代幣”，而未使用 “ICO” 術語，其目的就是與法律上敏感的詞彙和短語分離。

So, the projects want investors to think that they are investing in something with a high risk/reward profile, while using small print to disassociate the opportunity with investments!

所以說，這些專案希望投資者認為他們正在投資一個高風險高回報的產品，同時使用小字型印刷的附屬細則將機會與投資分開！

History has proven that ICOs are indeed high risk/reward. For example, the ETH token has appreciated some 200x in USD terms since ICO: The price at ICO was 25c per ETH (2,000 ETH per BTC at approx. 500)andisnowtradingaround$500)andisnowtradingaround$50 per ETH (Apr 2017). However, many ICOs have failed and the price of the tokens quickly became zero, fully wiping out the investments from hopeful investors.

歷史證明，ICO 確實的確是高風險/高回報的。例如，自開始 ICO 以來，以太幣的美元價格增長了約 200 倍：ICO 時以太幣的價格為每個 25 美分（每個比特幣約價值 500 美元，同時一個比特幣可以換取 2000 個以太幣），而現在每個以太幣（2017 年 4 月）的價格約為 50 美元。然而，許多 ICO 已經失敗，代幣的價值迅速清零，完全抹除了滿懷希望的投資者所投入的資金。

The risk profile of an ICO is more similar to the risk profile of equities than to a kickstarter project for the following reasons:

• Investors can buy large dollar amounts of tokens
• Investors hope that the value of the asset will go up by multiples
• Investors can lose all their money

ICO 的風險狀況與股票的風險狀況相比，更接近 kickstarter 上的專案，這是因為：

• 投資者可以購買大量的代幣
• 投資者希望資產的價值會成倍增長
• 投資者可能會損失所有資金

Currently ICOs fall in a regulatory grey area. At least one ICO (Ethereum’s) has created large profits for early investors. Con artists are taking advantage of these success stories to cheat investors who have little recourse. Some well-meaning ICOs have completely failed, leaving investors with worthless and useless tokens; though it is hard to tell if a project is really well-meaning or a well-orchestrated pump-and-dump.

目前 ICO 屬於監管灰色地帶。至少有一次 ICO（以太坊）為早期投資者創造了鉅額利潤。大騙子們正在利用這些成功案例來忽悠那些沒有追索權的投資者。有些有意義的 ICO 完全失敗了，給投資者留下了一文不值且毫無用處的代幣，儘管很難判斷一個專案是否真的很有意義，或者只是精心策劃的拉高出貨（Pump-and-dump）。

You have been warned!

我已經事先警告你了！

Thanks to Stephen Palley for his comments on this piece. Stephen is a lawyer and has written an excellent piece on ICOs, which I recommend reading.

感謝 Stephen Palley 對這篇文章的評論。Stephen 是一位律師，他寫了一篇非常優秀的關於 ICO 的文章，我推薦各位可以去閱讀一下。