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Fintech companies have been surging taking advantage of the current technological developments and have been challenging traditional incumbents. Disruptive ventures financed by cryptocurrencies are one of the main topics related to technological developments, capable of completely eliminating the need for a third-party intervenient and reducing the gap between investors and promoters. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the main impacts that fintech companies have on the business models of traditional banking/financial institutions and to focus on the success factors of disruptive and highly technological Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) projects, particularly, on the human capital factors. In order to do that, the thesis is divided into three main studies, each one of them focused on a particular topic. The methods used in this thesis are mixed as a qualitative approach was adopted through a systematic literature review, and a quantitative approach was performed by building several econometric models. This thesis concludes that fintechs cannot be considered complete substitutes to the traditional services yet. Nevertheless, they are posing incumbents challenges and exposing the weaknesses of their business models. The banking/financial institutions need to urgently adapt their business models in order to remain competitive, and most of them already accepted this challenge. The ICO projects also present a disruption and a step forward in the democratization of the financial investments. This study identified a wide range of success factors influencing the outcome of an ICO project. The success factors might be divided into categories according to their scope: (i) project; (ii) campaign; (iii) social networks; (iv) human capital. It is concluded that several factors have a real impact in the outcome of the projects, such as, the existence of financing thresholds, the quality of the whitepaper, the existence of a secondary market and bonus schemes, the price of the tokens, the price of cryptocurrencies, the good management of social networks, the promoters' geographic location, their networks, the size of the teams, external ratings attributed to the project and to the team. In terms of theoretical contributions, this study added a contribution to the still scarce literature on ICO projects and to two theories, namely, the signaling theory and Human Capital Theory (HCT). The managerial implications concern mainly the assessment of the quality of a project by the investors and the need for regulation by supervisors. ; As empresas fintech surgiram tomando partido dos atuais desenvolvimentos tecnológicos tendo desafiado os atuais atores do mercado. Projetos disruptivos financiados nomeadamente por cripto moedas são um dos tópicos relacionados com o desenvolvimento tecnológico e capazes de eliminar a necessidade para o envolvimento de terceiros na mediação financeira reduzindo assim o hiato entre investidores e promotores. O propósito desta tese é o de identificar os principais impactos que as empresas fintech têm nos modelos de negócio das empresas financeiras já estabelecidos no mercado. Terá um foco especial nos fatores de sucesso dos projetos baseados na blockchain denominados Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), em particular, os fatores relacionados com o capital humano. Assim, a tese está dividida em três estudos principais com focos diferentes. A metodologia usada nesta tese é de métodos mistos: uma metodologia qualitativa foi usada na revisão sistemática da literatura; e uma metodologia quantitativa foi usada na construção e estimação de modelos econométricos, tendo por base microdados de 428 projetos de ICOs do setor bancário. Esta tese conclui que as fintechs não podem ser ainda consideradas substitutos dos serviços financeiros tradicionais. Contudo, estas colocam desafios e expõem as fraquezas dos modelos de negócio tradicionais. A indústria financeira necessita de adaptar urgentemente os seus modelos de negócio para se manter competitiva. Este desafio já foi aceite por várias empresas. Os ICOs causam disrupção e são um grande passo para a democratização dos investimentos financeiros. Este estudo identificou um conjunto alargado de fatores de sucesso que influenciam o resultado final destes projetos. Os fatores podem agrupar-se em categorias: (i) projeto; (ii) campanha; (iii) redes sociais; (iv) capital humano. Os fatores que esta tese comprovou contribuírem para o sucesso de um projeto são os seguintes: pré-existência de limites de financiamento; a qualidade do whitepaper; a existência de um mercado secundário e esquema de bonificações; o preço dos tokens; o preço das cripto moedas; a boa gestão de redes sociais; a localização geográfica e a rede de contactos dos promotores; o tamanho das equipas; ratings externos atribuídos ao projeto e à equipa.No que diz respeito às contribuições teóricas, esta tese contribuiu para a escassa literatura no tema dos ICOs e para duas teorias, nomeadamente a siganling theory e Human Capital Theory (HCT). As contribuições práticas deste estudo relacionam-se com a avaliação da qualidade do projeto e a necessidade premente dos reguladores tomarem medidas nestes mercados.

In den letzten Jahren hat es einen regelrechten Boom an Startup-Gründungen gegeben. Für die Finanzierung des Startups werden neben dem Eigenkapital, häufig österreichische Förderungen und Risikokapital in Anspruch genommen. Seit 2013 gibt es nun auch die Möglichkeit einer innovativen Form der Finanzierung das sogenannte Initial Coin Offering (ICO), welche auf der Blockchain-Technologie basiert. Dabei werden digitale Anteile am Projekt, ähnlich wie bei Aktien, an die Anleger verkauft. Bei dieser Finanzierungsform können in kurzer Zeit mehrere Millionen Euro bereitgestellt werden. Aufgrund der fehlenden staatlichen Regulierung ist es jedoch in der Vergangenheit oft zu Betrugsfällen gekommen. Das hat zu einem erheblichen Rückgang bei ICO-Investitionen geführt. Ziel dieser Arbeit war es, Faktoren zu erheben, welche seriöse ICOs erkennen und die moderne Finanzierungsform sowohl für Startups als auch für Anleger wieder attraktiver zu machen. Um die nötigen Erkenntnisse zu erlangen, wurde einerseits auf die Theorie sowie auf den bisherigen Forschungsstand zurückgegriffen und andererseits eine empirische Studie durchgeführt. Dabei kam eine qualitative Forschungsmethode zur Anwendung. Es wurden Interviews mit Experten geführt, welche bereits selbst einen ICO durchgeführt oder sich beruflich mit dieser Investitionsform auseinandergesetzt haben. Bei dieser Untersuchung konnten 16 Faktoren identifiziert werden, welche auf Seriosität hinweisen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde erkannt, dass eine gesamtheitliche Bewertung des Startups, ähnlich wie bei der klassischen Finanzierungsform, erfolgen sollte. Neben dem ursprünglichen Kriterium, dem Hype, sind nun auch weitere Bewertungskriterien wie das Team, das Produkt, die Idee, der Token und vor allem der Entwicklungsfortschritt des Projekts ausschlaggebend. Diese Entwicklung führt dazu, dass nicht mehr die schnellen Gewinne aus ICO-Projekten, sondern langfristige Projekte mit fundamentalem Wert im Vordergrund stehen. ; In the last years there has been a big boom in foundation of startups. In addition to equity also Austrian subsidies and venture capital are often used to finance a startup. Since 2013 there has also been the possibility of an innovative form of financing Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which is based on blockchain technology where digital shares are being sold to investors. With this form of financing, several million euros can be made in a short time. However, due to the lack of government regulation, fraud has often occurred in the past. That has resulted in a significant decline in Initial Coin Offering investments. The aim of this masters thesis is to collect factors for serious Initial Coin Offerings to recognize and to make this modern form of financing more attractive again for startups as well as for investors. In order to achieve this goal the master thesis combined the theory and the previous state of research with a qualitative research of an empirical study where interviews were held with experts who have already carried out an Initial Coin Offering themselves or who have dealt with this type of investment professionally. The results of the expert interviews could identify sixteen factors which indicate seriousness. As part of this work, it was recognized that a holistic evaluation of the startup, similar to the classic form of financing, should be carried out. In addition to the original criterion, the hype, other evaluation criteria such as the team, the product, the idea, the token and, above all, the development progress of the project are decisive. This development leads to long-term projects with fundamental value. ; Florian Hochleitner ; Zusammenfassung auf Deutsch und Englisch ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin ; Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Masterarbeit, 2021 ; (VLID)5898244