However, ICO and IDO investing is still very much like the wild west. Sure, some crypto investors strike it rich and get in on blockchain projects at the perfect time. But more commonly, new projects fail to live up to expectations, stall in development, or are even downright scams.
The need for vetted IDOs is why platforms like Cardence.io exist. With Cardence, you can find upcoming decentralized finance (DeFi) projects in the GameFi, Metaverse, and NFT space operating on Cardano’s blockchain to invest in.
But is this incubator for Cardano projects worthwhile for investors? And, more importantly, what are the risks investors should know about before buying into an IDO?
What Is Cardence.io?
Cardence.io is a decentralized fundraising and incubator program for new projects on the Cardano blockchain. Specifically, Cardence focuses on promoting DeFi projects in the crypto gaming, metaverse, and NFT space.
According to its website, Cardence’s goal is to provide investors with early access to “the most innovative, highly vetted and promising projects.”
To accomplish this goal, the Cardence team vets applicants using four main criteria:
- Team structure and ability
- Innovation of the idea
- Feasibility
- Backers and project traction
Ultimately, Cardence.io helps bridge the gap between early-stage blockchain projects that need funding and investors who want to get in early on promising projects.
And this is truly an important step in the development of more successful decentralized applications (dApps). But as Cardence explains in its white paper, it’s often too difficult for projects to get the exposure and backing they need to thrive.
So, by providing a powerful, decentralized launchpad for Cardano projects, Cardence helps level the playing field and lets members find and fund promising projects at a crucial stage in development.
How Does Cardence.io Work?
Cardence.io is primarily a launchpad for early-stage Cardano projects. But this decentralized funding platform has numerous features to help both development teams and investors.
IDO Investing
Projects submit a Cardence Launchpad Application to get listed as an IDO on the platform. This application includes questions about a project’s white paper, current funding, funding goals, and if its smart contract has been audited.
From there, the Cardence team vets applicants before deciding to list them as an IDO. Cardence then uses a fixed swapping pool to create token presales investors can buy-into. This swapping pool has four main features:
- Vesting Schedule: Cardence allows for the release of tokens on a vesting schedule that’s determined before the IDO begins.
- Wallet Whitelisting: Projects can whitelist different crypto wallet addresses for presales.
- Liquidity Locking: Projects can specify how much liquidity they require from fundraising before the IDO begins.
- Affiliate Marketing: People can create unique affiliate links to promote IDOs and earn bonus rewards for doing so, similar to token airdrops.
This model helps projects determine how tokens are released to investors, which wallets are eligible, and how much liquidity the project needs to lock-in. Plus, adding affiliate marketing into the mix helps generate additional interest in IDOs and can bring more investors to the table.
Furthermore, Cardence requires users to stake at least 4,000 Cardence tokens (CRDN) if they want a share in the fixed swapping pool. And, how many tokens you stake and the time-period of staking influences how many tokens you can buy in a presale. This is how Cardence guarantees allocation and gets people to have skin in the game.
Currently, Cardence has four different staking pool periods:
- 30 Days: 1x.
- 60 Days: 1.5x.
- 90 Days: 2x.
- 180 Days: 4x.
The total number of tokens available for sale and the amount you stake also influences how many tokens you can buy. It’s a bit confusing for new investors, but Cardence explains its guaranteed participation methodology with examples in its documentation.
Cardence Project Incubator
Cardence.io is a decentralized fundraising platform first and foremost. However, projects can also apply for the incubation program to leverage Cardence’s team of experts.
Specifically, Cardence’s team helps early stage projects with:
- Community management
- Fundraising
- Graphics
- Marketing
- Tech development
- Tokenomics design
Furthermore, on-chain community voting is in the pipeline. This change would make Cardence function more like a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) by allowing stakeholders to vote on major decisions for projects.
Staking Rewards
One final feature of Cardence.io is its staking rewards. You can stake CRDN to earn additional tokens, and locking-up your tokens for longer periods of time increases your yield.
You have to connect a wallet and own CRDN to stake. Supported wallets include:
- Ambire
- Binance Chain Wallet
- Coinbase Wallet
- Infinity Wallet
- Ledger
- MetaMask
- Wallet 3
Cardence has a staking rewards calculator on its website that lets you calculate CRDN rewards depending on the number of tokens you stake and the time period.
How Do You Buy CRDN Tokens?
If you want to buy CRDN to buy into IDOs or stake it for passive rewards, you have several options.
The first was to buy CRDN in an initial token presale through MetaMask or Trust Wallet. But since the presale is over, you have to use Indoex, a cryptocurrency exchange, to buy CRDN with USDT or BNB.
Cardence.io is still working on additional partnerships with various decentralized exchanges (DEXs) to make it easier to purchase its token. But for now, don’t expect to find CRDN on popular crypto exchanges like Coinbase or Gemini anytime soon.
Is Cardence.io A Good Investment?
According to CoinMarketCap, CRDN token has a current price of around $0.068. This is down from a historical high price of approximately $0.46 per token.
Like many DeFi projects, Cardence.io benefitted from crypto’s bull run in 2021. Hype surrounding Cardano-based projects also naturally helps an IDO and incubation platform like Cardence.io gain value.
But is CRDN token a good investment?
Well, the answer to this question largely depends on if you think Cardence.io has a bright future.
Cardence has an ambitious goal of being the go-to platform for decentralized fundraising for the Cardano ecosystem. But achieving this goal requires further platform development and for Cardano to also continue to gain use alongside blockchains like Ethereum and Solana.
If you believe in the Cardence.io team, white paper, and roadmap, you can consider investing in CRDN. But as it stands right now, this is a speculative investment that carries a lot of risk. And like any crypto investment, you must always do your own due diligence and never invest money you can’t afford to lose.
The Bottom Line
The world of crypto moves fast, and it’s full of exciting developments. But if you want to get in on projects early, it’s offerings like ICOs and IDOs that get you in at the ground floor.
Platforms like Cardence.io are great news on this front. And if Cardano-based projects continue to grow in popularity, the future is definitely bright for Cardence.
Just remember that there are so many other exciting DeFi opportunities out there you can also explore. From crypto savings accounts to play-to-earn crypto games, there are more opportunities to build wealth with crypto than ever before.
Tom Blake is a personal finance writer with a passion for making money online, cryptocurrency and NFTs, investing, and the gig economy.