Is POWR token a buy?

Scam! Catastrophe! Or just a flop? Greedy founders! Early investors tricked! Once this thing hits the exchanges, token price is gonna tank!

Or so goes the sound of the panic merchants in the ICO-verse, less than a week in to the main sale of energy-trading blockchain platform Power Ledger. Sure, in the silent majority, cooler heads abound. But it wouldn’t be crypto if emotions weren’t running hot. My advice to all POWR token holders is to keep calm and strap yourselves in for the ride!

Spearheading this week’s FUD is the fear that the main sale price (an uncapped sale) could end up lower than the presale price (a capped sale). Some panicked noobs are already demanding that the founders ‘do something!’ to make sure pre-sale investors get the absolute cheapest possible price.

A lower price in the main sale is certainly a possibility, but it’s not something I feel much sympathy for. All of us (including myself) who bought in on the presale took a risk – that’s life. We chose the certainty of locking in a price at a valuation we thought seemed fair, over the chance of getting bargain basement prices.

Well, after the opening spurt, funds continue to trickle in but perhaps not in line with the blockbuster expectations of some speculators who truly long for the thrill of a quick win. I put the slow start (at least by the manic standards of 2017) down to 3 things:

1. Reluctance from Chinese or US-based investors to get involved given regulatory concerns. Once the ICO is over, those who were (appropriately) cautious about breaking their local laws might try to grab a few on the exchange.

2. Broader crypto conditions – ETH is down, and some investors are likely waiting for their currency to bounce back to avoid locking in weak exchange rates.

3. Lack of understanding of energy markets among crypto investors, and vice versa. Expect this to change once the power of one of Ethereum’s biggest potential killers becomes better understood.

There might also be some strategic bidding behaviour happening from large investors, who are prepared to forego the early bonuses in favour of keeping their powder dry, and not showing their hand too early (crowding in other investors, and diluting their eventual stake).

So where to from here?

My advice to all community members, including presale investors, is to take a big breath and remember this is all part of the ride. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Power Ledger, whether you’re more excited by the idea of Uber for electricity or coordinated new services for a 21st century energy system (like demand response app hosts).

The total amount of investment from this ICO is completely unknowable for weeks. Come up with your own advice, but here are my plans from here:

• Strike now (in week 1) – 15% is a very healthy bonus, and crypto markets have already bounced back a lot from the weekend’s China-related FUD

• Buy small amounts through the presale (to average out any currency related volatility in ETH)

• If things are still looking a bit light late in week 4, I might dig deep for one last plunge if it really does look like a bargain is developing.

I won't go out on a limb with a price prediction, but I think the distributed energy blockchain offers good value whether the sale raises $5, $30 or $100 million dollars. I believe the best approach with volatile assets like this is to invest small amounts over time and the plan is no different here.

It’s a damn exciting time for the future co-creation of energy.

Link to website Remember, the best way to judge ICOs is the quality of the team. Go check out the resumes on the website, and be affirmed that this project is first rate.

Disclosure - I'm buying POWR :)