Best Crypto and Blockchain Marketing agencies

Top 10 NFT Marketing Agencies in 2023: Analysis for NFT Enthusiasts, Startups, and Hodlers

The significance of marketing in promoting and selling products, be they physical or digital, cannot be understated. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are no exception. NFT marketing involves the promotion and sale of unique, blockchain-based digital assets to a well-defined target audience. While NFT marketing shares similarities with traditional web 2.0 marketing, its primary focus is on promoting irreplaceable digital assets rather than tangible products. The foundation of a successful NFT marketing campaign lies in educating cryptocurrency enthusiasts and potential investors about the advantages and opportunities of investing in an NFT collection. This is where specialized NFT marketing agencies play a pivotal role. Their primary objective is to generate awareness and stimulate demand for the NFTs on offer. By precisely targeting a relevant audience and crafting campaigns that resonate with them, these agencies can enhance the likelihood of a successful NFT sale. Stay tuned for our upcoming analysis of the top 10 NFT marketing agencies in 2023, which will provide invaluable insights for NFT fans, startup teams, and hodlers alike.

#1 Coinbound https://coinbound.io Coinbound is a leading digital marketing agency specializing in NFT companies. With a longer industry presence than any other NFT agency, Coinbound has established strong relationships with major publishers and influencers, perfecting the go-to-market strategy necessary for success in the rapidly evolving NFT landscape. The agency offers a comprehensive suite of services for NFT brands, including Discord setup and management, NFT influencer marketing, media buying, and more. Coinbound has gained a reputation for delivering high-impact campaigns that yield impressive ROIs. A notable example is their work with Generative Dungeons, where they facilitated the sellout of the client's NFT collection and secured over 2,600 ETH in trading volume within the first 24 hours of sale. Coinbound's service suite for marketing NFT companies boasts numerous case studies, including the successful sellout of multiple NFT projects in under an hour. Services: NFT Influencer Marketing, Web3 PR, Community Management, Social Media Management and Marketing, SEO Past Clients: MetaMask, ImmutableX, Wilder World, Generative Dungeons, eToro, Nexo, Cosmos, etc.

#2 MelrosePR https://www.melrosepr.com Melrose PR is a California-based PR agency specializing in NFTs. Established in 2012, Melrose PR was among the first PR agencies to concentrate on Web, crypto, blockchain, and NFT marketing. With experience working with dozens of Web3 firms, they have become a reputable name in the industry. Services: PR & Public Relations Past Clients: Civic, Decent Labs, Moonbeam, Swan Bitcoin Headquarters: Los Angeles, USA As a comprehensive Web3 service provider, Melrose PR offers exceptional support for NFT projects. While the company is renowned for its development expertise, their NFT marketing team excels at generating exposure for businesses. Leveraging their international contacts, the team conducts effective promotions for NFT and metaverse ventures.

#3 CryptoPR https://cryptopr.com CryptoPR.com is a leading NFT marketing agency with a global presence and a central base in London. Specializing in promoting NFT projects, cryptocurrencies, and DeFi, the company utilizes a variety of promotional tools such as search engines, social media networks, community interaction channels, and blogging portals. Clients can expect tailor-made NFT marketing campaigns that align with their specific key performance indicators (KPIs) and budget constraints. With a mission to provide high-quality curated marketing content for creators worldwide, CryptoPR partners with some of the most well-known online media outlets. The agency operates in multiple languages, making it one of the most accessible UK NFT marketing agencies.

One of CryptoPR's most notable projects is the campaign for Lucky Block, an innovative crypto-gaming platform that emerged in 2022. Through this campaign, CryptoPR successfully drove the platform's popularity, helping the team raise over $5 million through token sales in just six weeks. Since then, Lucky Block has continued to grow, partnering with household names like Dillian Whyte and Jamie Jewitt.

#4 Crynet https://crynet.io Crynet.io, a full-service marketing agency based in the European Union, specializes in providing promotional services for NFT businesses. Their expertise includes content marketing, SEO analysis, social media, email marketing, paid ad campaigns, and digital press releases. Over the years, Crynet Marketing Solutions has helped numerous NFT brands gain recognition and build strong communities. Having established partnerships with various NFT platforms and curators, Crynet assists up-and-coming projects in securing their presence in the highly competitive digital business space. Their extensive list of clients and ongoing projects demonstrate the value they provide through comprehensive promotional efforts. Founded in 2016, Crynet has earned trust and successfully mastered the art of NFT marketing. The agency allows its clients the freedom to customize their marketing campaigns from start to finish, a rare provision in today's market.

#5 Omni https://www.omniagency.ca Omni, a leading NFT marketing services provider based in Toronto, Canada, specializes in leveraging blockchain networks for advertising and identifying the most effective channels to promote NFT projects. Their persuasive marketing strategies establish clear goals and deliver tangible results for their clients. Omni has partnered with notable projects such as Crypto Players Club, Depressed Citizens, Raiinmaker, OptyFi, and Flipsies. Their top marketing services include community marketing, influencer marketing, shilling services, and social media marketing. Acting as the driving force behind some of the world's most disruptive web3 trailblazers, Omni doesn't just recognize potential; they engineer it into unparalleled success, propelling clients' projects to new heights. With their unwavering commitment to clients and innovative strategy planning techniques, they lay the groundwork for undeniable market dominance. Your journey to greatness begins with Omni.

#6 AppDupe https://www.appdupe.com AppDupe is a leading agency dedicated to creating exceptional NFTs that encompass both virtual and tangible assets. They offer customized NFT marketing services to help your NFTs gain traction and target potential buyers. With a dedicated marketplace where users can mint their creations into NFTs, AppDupe also provides services for creators to tokenize their work on a blockchain network before listing it on trading platforms. Their innovative marketing practices, developed by a skilled team of specialists, aim to increase the value of your work. AppDupe's marketing approach encompasses a proactive attitude, meticulous curation of marketing strategies and execution, and utilizing multiple channels for broader reach. With over 100 successful projects under their belt, AppDupe's end-to-end marketing services include a selection of high-end promotional tactics to further elevate your project. They also explore additional NFT marketing services to expand the impact of the collection and the platform, ensuring that your project reaches its full potential.

#7 Turnkey town https://www.turnkeytown.com TurnkeyTown is a leading NFT marketing agency known for delivering top-notch marketing strategies tailored to clients' NFT projects. Their marketing services cater to digital assets, attracting millions of potential customers and NFT traders. TurnkeyTown's consistent marketing campaigns drive increased organic traffic, leads, and ROI for NFT projects. They offer comprehensive marketing packages, including PR and influencer programs, social media strategy development, and community engagement to publicize clients' offerings effectively. As an end-to-end Web3 service provider with over seven years of experience in the domain, TurnkeyTown's NFT marketing agency has demonstrated expertise in promoting various NFT projects. Their teams focus primarily on community-based promotions through Discord and Telegram, in addition to employing traditional promotional strategies. The NFT marketing team also offers customized campaign packages for different NFT applications, helping startups capture their target audiences. With a team composed of both experienced professionals and young talent full of creativity and domain knowledge, clients can trust TurnkeyTown to deliver outstanding promotional campaigns for their NFT projects.

#8 Eon8 https://www.eon8.com/ Eon8 is a renowned NFT marketing agency offering a comprehensive range of services, such as social media marketing, influencer marketing, and community management. With experience working on numerous high-profile NFT projects, Eon8 has a proven track record of delivering remarkable results for their clients. Established in 2012, Eon8 initially had fewer than 10 employees servicing a handful of clients in Chennai. Over time, it expanded its team to approximately 40 versatile employees who have worked on over 1,000 projects, demonstrating expertise in catering to clients' specific needs and effectively building businesses online. As a creative NFT marketing company, Eon8 specializes in crafting customized NFT marketing campaigns that add value and foster community for clients' NFTs. Their approach prioritizes growth marketing, scalable strategies, community management, and bespoke marketing solutions. Boasting 12 years of experience in the marketing industry, Eon8 has consistently delivered top-notch results for crypto and NFT projects. Eon8's team of experienced marketers create unique marketing strategies aimed at enhancing the value of clients' NFTs. Their comprehensive NFT marketing services are designed to help clients achieve their goals and drive high ROI, establishing Eon8 as a leading NFT marketing agency in the industry.

#9 X10 Agency https://x10.agency X10 Agency is a full-service NFT marketing agency renowned for offering a wide range of high-quality options for NFT projects seeking advertising and promotional support. Originally founded in Russia and now expanding internationally, X10 Agency primarily targets smaller brands in EMEA regions. Boasting a proven track record of assisting NFT projects in engaging their target audiences and achieving long-term goals, X10 Agency is highly regarded for its market research, breakdown analysis, and effective strategies. The NFT marketing services provided by X10 Agency include NFT consulting, community management, social media marketing, NFT listing, public relations, and influencer marketing. The agency has consistently produced impressive results for its clients, such as the SKYFCHAIN project, a platform catering to the cargo robotics industry. For this project, X10 Agency managed to raise $6.2 million as of this writing. With numerous successful campaigns under their belt, it is evident that X10 Agency's team possesses extensive experience and expertise in the NFT marketing space.

#10 Blockchain PR https://blockchainpr.io Blockchain PR, with its complete focus on promoting NFT projects, offers a comprehensive range of services, from its name and website representation to the strategic approaches it employs. With over 13 years in the industry, the agency maintains a limited yet successful project portfolio. The firm caters to its clients' needs through innovative design and strategic messaging, utilizing a variety of advertising strategies. Blockchain PR's experience working with projects across numerous Web3 niches is invaluable when assisting future clients. Founded in 2010 in the USA, Blockchain PR is a premier marketing agency that provides a wide range of digital solutions, specifically tailored for crypto, blockchain, and NFT projects. Although the agency offers diverse services, each solution emphasizes two core NFT marketing features: innovative design and strategic messaging. With access to over 50 marketing services, Blockchain PR is the ideal choice for promoting sophisticated NFT assets.

Top 10+ ICO Marketing and PR Agencies for 2023: A Guide for Crypto Enthusiasts, Startups, and Investors

Since its inception in 2013, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have revolutionized the financial landscape by providing an innovative fundraising method for startups. To ensure the success of an ICO, a dedicated marketing agency is often employed to promote the project through various channels, including social media and blogs. These specialized cryptocurrency marketing agencies devise strategic campaigns tailored to the unique needs of blockchain-based startups, resulting in effective and targeted marketing solutions. Cryptocurrency marketing agencies excel in creating compelling content for a diverse range of promotional methods, such as offline marketing, social media marketing, display marketing, and public relations services. As the blockchain technology sector continues to expand, the demand for top-tier blockchain marketing agencies has surged accordingly. For entrepreneurs and investors looking to capitalize on the potential of blockchain technology, a reliable ICO and crypto marketing agency is essential for success. To assist you in this endeavor, we have compiled a comprehensive list of the top 10+ ICO marketing and PR agencies for 2023. This resource aims to provide valuable insights for crypto adopters, users, startup teams, and hodlers alike, helping you navigate the ever-evolving world of blockchain with confidence.

#1 AmaZix https://www.amazix.com Founded in Hong Kong in 2013, AmaZix has established itself as one of the world's premier token marketing agencies and advisory firms. Catering to blockchain and cryptocurrency startups, AmaZix offers an array of blockchain services such as branding, public relations, community management, legal counsel, and human resources. Their primary expertise lies in community management, and with over seven years of experience in building relationships, AmaZix excels at fostering trust within communities and ensuring loyalty among followers. AmaZix has successfully assisted in raising more than $291 million and has served over several hundred clients with their blockchain projects. Among the company's most notable clients are Ambrosus, Arcona, and BitNation. Associated ICOs: WePower, Ambrosus, Arcona, Attrace, BABB, Banca, Bancor, BANKEX, bitJob, Bitnation, Blockshipping GSCP, Bloom, BotChain, Cardstack, ClinTex, Codex, CoinMetro, Cool Cousin, Countinghouse Fund, Creator.ai, Current, CyberTrust, DatabrokerDAO, Dataeum, Datawallet, DAV, DREAM, ELIGMA, EQUI, EtherSportz, Evident Proof, Fan Controlled Football League, Flixxo, FortKnoxster, Giftcoin, Giftz.io, Global REIT, GoChain, Havven, HDAC, Helbiz, Indorse, JoyToken, KickCity, Maecenas, Multiversum, On.Live, Pareto, PayPro, Personal Data Democracy, Po.et, Project Shivom, Restart Energy, Smart Containers, Stox, XYO Network, Zap Store

#2 Coinbound https://coinbound.io Boasting a successful track record in blockchain and crypto ICO marketing campaigns, Coinbound is a top-tier crypto marketing agency established in 2018. Tyler Daniel Smith, the agency's leader, is a renowned crypto marketer known for his insightful podcasts on crypto marketing. Coinbound offers a comprehensive suite of crypto marketing services, including social media management, PPC campaigns, influencer marketing, SEO, and SEM. Clients have experienced a 50% increase in organic traffic following successful SEO campaigns and social media initiatives. Coinbound is also home to the largest network of content creators, news sites, and influencers in the crypto and blockchain sectors. Some of their prominent clients include eToro and ShapeShift, among others. Associated ICOs: eToro, OKEx, Coinmine, ShapeShift, Apollo, CoinStats, etc.

#3 Crynet https://crynet.io Established in 2016, Crynet is a full-service IT company that specializes in providing exceptional blockchain consulting and development services across the globe. In addition to these core offerings, the company also delivers digital strategies, media buying, production, and IR/PR solutions. Crynet is staffed by highly experienced and skilled professionals who have worked with STO/ICO companies in consulting, PR, marketing, and capital raising. The company has an impressive track record, including over 500 satisfied clients on Coinpayments, a top 10 ICO marketing agency ranking by GoodFirms, and more than $350 million raised. Crynet's core service offering is its blockchain consulting solutions, which cater to startups and businesses of all sizes worldwide. They have successfully completed projects for well-known clients such as Swissborg, BANKEX, EARTH TOKEN, Energi Token, HOQU, Spheroid Universe, Equibank, Ubex, Waves, Yuzuswap, PIF DAO, and more. Blockchain consulting plays a crucial role in today's business landscape. Crynet's professional consultants assist their clients by transforming their work processes and systems. By integrating blockchain with diverse marketing, media, PR, and SMM tools, Crynet positions businesses for immense success in the future. The company also has lucrative national market opportunities in the MENA, SEA, CIS, and LATAM regions. In all these regions Crynet has verified native partners and collaborations. Crynet offers ICO (Initial Coin Offering), IDO (Initial Dex Offering), and STO (Security Token Offering) solutions to clients worldwide. Their dedicated team helps businesses develop and implement ICO and IDO strategies, leveraging blockchain technology to allocate tokens and raise capital. Crynet's mission is to provide the highest level of satisfaction to its clients and continuously modernize its products with cutting-edge technologies. The reliable team enables clients to stay ahead of the competition by adhering to advanced tech standards and anticipating industry trends.

#4 ReVerb https://reverbico.com Recognizing the importance of effective marketing in ensuring the success of an Initial Crowd Offering (ICO), ReVerb provides comprehensive ICO marketing services tailored to the needs of cryptocurrency and token investors. A professional presentation and an engaging marketing campaign are crucial for companies seeking to attract serious interest and investment. Established in 2017, with offices in the USA, UK, and Europe, ReVerb offers a full range of ICO marketing services, including White Papers, Lite Papers, Pitch Decks, 1-Pagers, and Tokenomics for blockchain-related companies. Boasting an international team of crypto and Web3 experts, ReVerb has collaborated with startups during pre-seed, seed, and series A funding rounds, as well as ICOs, helping clients raise over $30 million to date. Associated ICOs: BitRewards, Carri, StampsDaq, Inero, DoTheMoon (DTM), and several others. ReVerb's clients have successfully raised more than $30 million from ICOs and private retail investors.

#5 Priority token https://ptoken.io Priority Token is a unique Europe-based ICO marketing agency that sets itself apart by focusing on uniform solutions. With headquarters in London and branches in Singapore, Moscow, and Dubai, Priority Token's tailor-made community management strategies enable easy access to markets like Korea, Japan, and China, which can be challenging to target due to local languages. The company has also garnered attention for its roadshows, prominently held in the Middle East, Asia, and the UK.
However, Priority Token's presence in the United States, a crucial market for blockchain, is limited. The agency's operations in the US market are minimal, and their understanding of the market is lacking. If your goal is to reach a broader US audience, it may be advisable to choose another ICO marketing agency from this list. Priority Token has a team size of 11-20 employees and was founded in 2017. Associated ICOs: BehaviourExchange, Bitminer Factory, BitRewards, DiscoveryIoT, Eternal Trusts, Faceter, IPStock, Loyakk, METOKEN, ModulTrade, Online.io, Playkey, Saifu, SKYFchain, TraXion, Triggmin

#6 NinjaPromo https://ninjapromo.io Established in 2017, NinjaPromo is a leading New York-based Crypto Marketing Agency with a global presence through offices around the world. As a frontrunner in social media marketing and public relations for blockchain-based companies, NinjaPromo has assisted more than 18 blockchain brands in gaining traction in the highly competitive crypto industry. Their expertise spans impressive content production, public relations, paid advertising, and influencer marketing. Other popular ICO marketing services provided by NinjaPromo include marketing strategy development, PR and influencer outreach, email marketing, UI/UX, website design, management, video creation, and branding. NinjaPromo has helped clients raise $150 million as part of investment collections. By partnering with NinjaPromo, you can ensure that your ICO, NFT, STO, or DeFi campaign will be expertly managed. Notable clients include Bitforex, TechX, Iqoniq, and IronFX, among others. Associated ICOs: Bitforex, IQONIQ, Okex, Unibright, Ceek, French Blockchain Federation, HYCON, Tozex, Paypolitan, Polka Ventures, DAO Ventures, DCTDAO, Pollo, Workquest, Coinmerce, Castweet, Contentos, IronX, Vertex.

#7 Flexe www.Flexe.io Based in Moscow, Russia, Flexe is a leading bitcoin marketing agency. The agency’s core mission is to provide blockchain and Fintech start-ups with quality marketing services in a cost-effective and cost-efficient manner. In addition to having access to more than 150 media partners, including top publications like Forbes, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Entrepreneur, Flexe.io it is miles ahead of any other crypto marketing agency. The company’s core crypto marketing services include airdrop marketing, influencer marketing, Google Ads, PR, and IEC marketing, among others. Flexe has helped over 50 cryptos and, fintech brands generate millions of dollars through successful campaigns, with over three years of experience and 35 crypto enthusiasts on staff. RAMP DeFi, EdgeCoin, ApeSwap, and ApeSwap are among some prominent clients. Associated with ICOs : NewsCrypto.io, Nucleus Vision, Pascal, Bytenext, Bonfi, 8PAY, MOSS, DEXFIN, BONFI, Holder Finance, DEFIQA, VEROX, YFDFI.FINANCE, BANKAERO, Monart, MEGATECH, Impulse Ven, INFINITY YIELD, Blox STAKING, RAMP DEFI, Yield Bank, CAIZCOIN, COOK, Ecocelium, BTCRUBY, DAILYCOIN, Plethori, AlgoVest, Koinal, Cops Finance, QoinIQ, CoinMarketManager, DeFiScale, DAN etc

#8Applicature https://applicature.com Founded in 2010, Applicature is a US-based bitcoin marketing agency that assists both start-ups and enterprise blockchain brands. One of the best aspects of Applicature is their ability to introduce start-up brands to investors, as many of them follow or collaborate with the agency. Applicature is a member of the EEA and has its own blockchain community in Silicon Valley. The agency offers a wide range of blockchain marketing services, including social media marketing, community building, PR campaigns, influencer marketing, and content marketing, among others. Applicature is also a viable option for those interested in conducting roadshows with blockchain brands. With a successful minimum investment of $3,000,000, the agency can help bring selected projects to Asia's Top 100 investors in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Singapore. Applicature has successfully raised over $330 million in coin offerings for 15 clients. Notable clients include SLOGN, Orocrypt, and DarICO. Associated ICOs: Acorn Collective, Budbo, Clout, Codex, CrowdWiz, DreamTeam, Mosaic, Terawatt, VARcrypt.

#9 Blockwiz https://blockwiz.com Blockwiz was founded in 2019 by Dev Sharma, who had previously held executive leadership roles with some of the largest cryptocurrency companies, such as OKEx and Paxful. After struggling to find an agency he could trust, Dev decided to start his own. Since its inception, the agency has successfully worked on over 150 crypto projects. With a full-time team of 70 members, including growth hackers, creative writers, designers, and strategists, Blockwiz is committed to helping clients achieve rapid growth. The agency boasts impressive statistics, with 100 million YouTube views, 10 million followers on Twitter, and five million community messages. Blockwiz offers a range of crypto marketing services, such as influencer marketing, community building, brand management, and strategy consulting. Trusted by global crypto brands like Bybit, CoinDCX, Delta, and Vauld, the company was founded in 2020 and is based in Canada. Associated ICOs: Sugarbounce ($TIP), Delta ($DETO), Lithium Finance ($LITH), GGDapp (GGTK).

#10 ICO Speaks https://icospeaks.com ICO Speaks, founded in 2018 in Singapore, is a top blockchain marketing company that creates numerous opportunities for ICO campaigns, businesses, and crypto projects to generate massive traffic across various platforms. They also hold AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions that allow project owners to personally connect with the community and share all the details about their projects. These sessions can make a significant difference between a successful ICO campaign and a failed one. Before the AMA sessions, ICO Speaks provides ICO marketing services that include paid promotions, content marketing, affiliate marketing, and other forms of promotion to ensure that project owners attract a large audience. They also have a sizable Telegram community with over 100,000 subscribers, increasing the chances of attracting investors for your ICO. Associated ICOs: GINGR, EXO, Xchange Monster, MoonStrike, MetaEngine, Bolide, Quint, OZ Finance, Cairo Finance, Konstellation, Findora, Wealth Matic Max, Cadeceus, Food, Near, Few and Far, Lunachow, Genius Assets, Crown Sterling, Playpad, CITRUS, AiTech, GARI, Rocket Network, Token Traxx, Project Sena, Spark, NFTY Portal, AQUARIS, Nitro Network, Time Raiders, izumi World, Geojam, Fusang, LunaFi, and more.

The Evolution of Crypto Fundraising: IDO as an Alternative?

IDO (Initial Dex Offering) is a new crowdfunding model in the crypto market that became quite popular in early 2021 amid growing interest in DeFi. Therefore, it's time to tell how this works, how it differs from both ICO and IEO. It is also worth pointing out the pros and cons of IDO, as well as evaluating the possibilities of the new crowdsale method.

Prehistory
The first ICO (Initial Coin Offering) was held by the Mastercoin protocol in 2013. In 2017-2018, the popularity of ICOs was high – in 2017, projects raised $5.6 billion, and in the first quarter of 2018 – $3.3 billion. Under the ICO model, anyone could start selling their tokens to everyone. At the same time, the token issuer does not need to disclose his identification data, nor present the MVP, nor confirm qualifications, nor in any other way prove that issuer is a reliable developer, and his project is a profitable investment. It was enough just to create a smart contract to sell your tokens for bitcoins or ether. Such easy access to investments attracted interest and money to the ICO market, but at the same time, the lack of any control and requirements also became the main reason for the increase in the number of scammers. So, according to a study by Satis Group LLC, in 2018 more than 80% of all token sales in the ICO market were scams. When investors realized this problem, they began to involve regulators and sue token sellers and even those who advertised these projects as well. By the end of 2018, the ICO had exhausted, so crypto exchanges offered an alternative to ICO – Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). In 2019, IEOs were replaced by IDOs: in June 2019, the Raven Protocol project placed tokens on Binance DEX. What are the differences between these methods of raising funds? During the ICO, the issuer independently chooses the exchanges and agrees on the placement of tokens. With IEO, funds are raised by a centralized platform like Binance and FTX, and with IDO, by a decentralized exchange like Binance DEX and Uniswap. For ICO and IEO, projects pay listing fees. DEX do not charge listing fees. While an IPO is the standard model for raising capital in the stock markets, the crypto market is increasingly mobile. We can call this the evolution of crypto crowdfunding. High costs, the inability to trade on other exchanges, and often not transparent requirements for projects became the reason that many developers did not like the IEO. In addition, both startups and investors did not like IEO's dependence on centralized exchanges, which goes against the idea of crypto and blockchain – decentralization. In order to neutralize all these shortcomings, it was decided to do the same, but on decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEX). This is how the IDO tool appeared. It assumes that any DEX user can run their own IDO. You just need to activate the corresponding smart contract, register a new token and provide the pool with liquidity. Over the past year, the number of funds blocked in DeFi has grown 67 times. According to the DeFi Pulse service, at its peak on May 12, 2021, this figure reached $89 billion, now it is $67 billion. This indicates that decentralized services are becoming more widespread. In 2020, interest in DeFi has skyrocketed. As a result, a new way of attracting funds- IDO, began to gain popularity. Projects issue tokens that are already backed by liquidity pools on DEX. In order to participate in the IDO, investors need to register in the white list in advance. One of the most popular IDO platforms is Coinlist and many others. If we are talking about projects on the Ethereum, then most often their token sales are held on decentralized crypto exchanges as Uniswap. IDO is a new way to attract funding, which, unlike ICO and IEO, does not have clear rules. It all depends on the issuer of the token. Tokens that are issued during the IDO are guaranteed to be placed on a decentralized crypto exchange. This was one of the main problems of the ICO, many of which never made it to listing on a centralized platform. The most profitable IDO at the moment is Flow from the Dapper Labs project. At its peak, its value rose 433 times from the initial placement. IDO isn't just about DeFi companies. For example, the crypto payment company CoinsPaid – in 2020 grew x5 due to which it began to process 5% of all transactions in the bitcoin network. Listing a token on a DEX does not guarantee the growth of its quotes. IDO has high risks, this must be taken into account when deciding to participate in the token sale as well. What is IDO? There is no official definition of IDO. Some community members refer to this concept as an acronym for Initial DEX Offering. This could indicate any form of token offering that is DEX-related or not at all. IDO is a fundraising method in which crowdsale is carried out through a DEX using liquidity pools through which traders can easily and quickly buy new tokens on the DEX. The liquidity pool is the trading pairs of common cryptocurrencies and stable coins, for example, USDT/ETH. Thanks to them, traders can quickly switch between crypto assets and stable coins depending on market conditions. And since the volatility of stable coins is negligible, it reduces the risks of losing your investments due to the extreme volatility of the crypto market. At the same time, as ICOs, IDOs have minimum requirements for investors and developers (often there are none at all). Because of this, this method of raising funds has become very popular among DeFi projects in 2020. And if the regulator does not intervene again, then, most likely, IDO will become a new trend in the world of cryptocurrencies. The IDO is fully and independently organized by the token issuer, so anyone can organize it if they want to choose a similar form of token distribution. This action is 100% organized by the issuer with the project's own IT system or online within the blockchain using transactions from the project or the issuer. The IDO is not controlled by others. Since an IDO can be carried out by anyone, technically it should be regulated by the jurisdiction of the issuer, but it depends entirely on the token issuer itself and does not provide any guarantees. So this fundraising depends entirely on the team. IDO pricing is also determined by the team. Price can have its own logic, regardless of whether someone agrees with it or not, and it does not matter if such a price reflects the real usability of the token. Also, the project team independently determines whether KYC is required during the IDO. This factor is a risk if the project team for the free participation of investors, but the presence of KYC is also not a guarantee against failure today.

During the IDO, you need to protect investors from scammers. More often scammers create and publish fake token sale contracts. The project should make IDO as transparent as possible: publish the address on the website and in social networks, as well as delete messages with fake addresses from fake accounts. Additionally, projects can use popular DeFi solutions to optimize the investment interest in the project, such as optimizing payment processing and launching staking if desired. But in fact, preparing and conducting an IDO is not at all easier than an ICO or IEO. This is still a very painstaking and responsible work of the project team and its advisors.

IDO startup process IDO can be launched on decentralized exchanges such as Binance DEX, Polkastarter, and Uniswap. Moreover, such a crowdsale can be launched either completely independently or using various automation tools. The process consists of: – Analysis. This step involves analyzing the startup in a user-friendly format. This usually means launching a website and writing a White Paper. Less commonly, startups provide MVP, product demos. In fact, the ICO algorithm is repeated. – Drawing up an action plan for IDO. The project is sent to the launch platform of the selected DEX, where it must be checked and selected by exchange users, or an external auditor. If the project is approved, it goes to launchpad. The check is needed to protect launchpad from junk IDO spam and scam. For example, on the Polkastarter platform, the application process is overseen by the Polkastarter team and supervisory board, which includes members from Huobi, Polygon, Alchemy and other investors. But there are also IDO launchpads where no one checks the project – Presale. Initially, liquidity is replenished with financial resources from early-stage sponsors and venture capitalists investing in the market making of the liquidity pool. They are offered to buy new tokens at a large discount. Further, private investors with average investment amounts are admitted. To participate in this phase, you usually need to register with a whitelist and subscribe to the project's social networks. – Public sale. Tokens are sold in this phase to everyone who did not get into the whitelist, but with a smaller discount. At the same time, unlike ICOs, where the attracted capital was almost always ETH or BTC, in IDO capital is attracted through a combination of ETH and stable coins (USDC, USDT and DAI). The public token sale itself is usually carried out in one of two ways: a) The issuer sells in batches, increasing the price of tokens at each next step. This approach attracts more attention of private small investors, since the very first buyers can get tokens with large discounts. B) Instead of selling tokens at fixed prices, the issuer holds an auction, as a result of which the sale price is determined by supply and demand – Listing of tokens on the crypto exchange. After the successful completion of the IDO and the TGE, the token is listed for trading on automated market maker (AMM) based DEX such as Uniswap, Pancakeswap or Balancer. And since these are decentralized trading platforms, the listing of new tokens does not require any additional fees and permits. The issuer simply needs to create a pool of liquidity using its tokens and funds from the IDO (or other sources). In this way, the issuer will launch a liquid secondary market for its token. – Stimulating liquidity. Some projects, after listing their token, create incentives to attract people to their ecosystem. In the most popular form, these are special programs that allow users to earn tokens by performing certain actions, for example, becoming a liquidity provider and / or a system validator. The last stage is the most problematic, since incentives at any time can turn into a sale of tokens obtained in this way.

IDO pros and cons IDO pros: – Just organize the process. Almost any startup can raise additional funding with IDO. The absence of strict verification procedures, as under STO and IEO, has provided widespread access to IDO, which makes the tool more competitive and at the same time open to innovation. True, this can also be a disadvantage. – Fast listing on exchanges. Unlike IEO/STO, IDO does not have to wait long for tokens to be listed on exchanges. Listing occurs as soon as the IDO ends. At the same time, it does not impose an obligation on the issuer to sell its tokens on only one exchange, as in the case of IEO. – Accessibility for non-accredited investors. After regulators entered the crypto market, they demanded that only accredited investors take part in investing. IDO does not have such restrictions, which makes them available to everyone. So, at their own decision – small investors can use it – Reduced fundraising costs. Listing on medium to large CEX costs a lot of money today. Plus, trading platforms conduct strict due diligence on new projects, refusing them for a variety of reasons. When launching a project through IDO, this is not the case. The token will be listed almost immediately after the sale ends. Smart contracts are responsible for this, not people or CEX boards. – Transparency. This condition is not new or unique in the world of crypto. But it's still nice to know that you can always check the IDO smart contracts yourself and adjust your plans. IDO cons: – Fraud. As mentioned above, the availability of IDO is not only a plus, but also a minus. Since this opens up the possibility of launching scam projects that can flood this market, as it was with ICO. – Price jumps at the start of IDO. This model works in such a way that after the first person buys a token, its rate begins to rise. And the greater the demand at the start, the higher the dynamics. Because of this, only a few investors can purchase a token at the initial price before its value increases. – Dumping tokens immediately after IDO. If a large number of token holders from different bounty and airdrops will have the chance to sell, for sure, such not even investors, but lovers of freebies, will always immediately dump their tokens in order to monetize at least something, which will rapidly negatively affect quotes. – Possibility for price manipulation. Another disadvantage of the IDO is the Pump and Dump vulnerability. Some traders can use a trading bot to buy a large number of tokens at the start at a basic cost and sell them sharply when the rate rises enough. Today this is constantly happening, and so far, projects cannot control who takes part in the manipulation of their liquidity pool due to the decentralization of the process. As in ICO, STO and IEO, in IDO one of the factors of success will be only the quality of the project and the professionalism of the team. Moreover, the quality of the product is now often more important than marketing, since it is easier for advertisements to rely on the quality of product, rather than on the stories about the possible future product. If you have a MVP or demo version and it really solves some problems of users, then its IDO will undoubtedly attract the attention of investors of different levels. IDO emerged as a solution to the main problems of ICOs, STOs and IEOs. Due to its decentralization, availability, lack of fees and commissions, the new fundraising model in crypto can become a solution in the crypto market. But only if IDO manages to solve several important problems associated with ensuring equal access to sales for large and small investors and protection against pump and dump schemes. If these things are resolved, then IDO may become an even more popular tool in the future.

IDO perspectives
The evolution of fundraising and token launch mechanisms over the past years is a testament to how much innovation is currently taking place in the Ethereum and other crypto ecosystems. In addition, modern projects can combine the mechanics of launching and distributing their token. However, these mechanisms are only a means and the final result depends on the quality of the project product itself and the competent formation of the liquidity pool. Funds are attracted using smart contracts of liquidity pools – collective repositories of funds of users of DEX platforms. In CEX, trading takes place on the basis of the order book, where orders to buy and sell assets are collected. Their price is determined by supply and demand. If users cannot agree on the price of a digital asset (there are no buyers or sellers for the quoted prices), then the market maker steps in. A CEX cannot work without a market maker – it is illiquid, and the closure of transactions would be for hours. DEX has no order book or market makers. Their function is performed by liquidity pools – they work as automated market makers (AMM), exchanging assets without the participation of a market maker. This allows traders to exchange assets directly from the pool without waiting for buyers or sellers. The specific exchange price is set by a complex pricing algorithm called Bonding Curves. It is based on the ratio of assets in the pool: when tokens are bought, their price rises, and when they are sold, their price falls. The price balance is maintained by traders. They “freeze” their assets in the pool, providing liquidity, receiving a reward for it. At the same time, the price of an asset in a pool may differ from prices on centralized exchanges. Any DEX user can formally conduct an IDO. You just need to activate a special contract, register a new token and provide liquidity to the pool. The success of projects still depends on a committed community, a thoughtful tokenomics, a top-notch team, and a focused development strategy. Liquidity pool-based platforms such as Uniswap are increasingly becoming the preferred platform for fundraising and distribution of DeFi tokens. IDOs are gaining in popularity and are likely to become the new industry standard. Now, mainly through IDO, DeFi projects are raising funds. But this does not mean that projects from other areas of the crypto sector cannot use this funding model. However, it is unlikely that IDOs will completely replace ICOs, STOs, and IEOs.

Sergey Golubev (Сергей Голубев) Crynet Marketing Solutions, vtorov.tech, EU structural funds, ICO/STO/IEO projects, NGO & investment projects, project management

First of all, when you, as a founder, clearly understand what you want to get from the project itself. In principle, nothing new, as usual in any business. You should think about PR when:

● an investor is needed

● you need to attract an additional audience

● you need to restart the project or introduce additional services to the market

● strong employees are needed, that is important to convince of the prospects of the project

- Strengthening brand strength, goodwill endurance and strengthening the reputation of the project and its team is needed

PR coupled with a strong product and well-functioning teamwork can bring good results: increase investor interest, attract an audience when entering a new market, and motivate strong professionals to work for the company. If you have a high-quality product that is beautifully packaged and growing sales figures, you probably wondered how to build an effective PR strategy and optimize work in this area. In principle, I consider it a mistake to believe that the basis of the added value of any cryptocurrency is a high-quality PR campaign. Many who dive into the world of tokens, ICOs and cryptocurrencies really do not represent the essence of these things, therefore, due to the virtuality of assets, they mistakenly believe that they are worthless without PR. A high-quality service, product, technical impeccability, and consumer demand must always stand behind a crypto project. PR for a bad product is a crime against the market and innovation. When the quality of the product is obvious to the market, the PR campaign only adds additional value to the product in the eyes of the market and consumers.

The hype around the crypto industry is directly converted into income and investment. Previously, the industry held on to the interest of early adopters, but now that money has entered the industry, a battle has begun for the client and his money. Promotional campaigns are structured in the same way as campaigns in other areas. To promote the project, a team of marketers is now required who will purchase pr-articles, negotiate with publications, wind up views and comments, set up banner ads, and write suitable content. What you can see now in the PR and marketing services environment:

· PR managers rarely care about the status of the site for placement, few people ask for statistics, cases, referral links, etc., most agree or not to the announced amount without asking for segmentation of services according to the price list to see unnecessary tools for which they are charged pay

· Agencies generally take on any projects without even conducting an elementary DD of the project and its team. Therefore, only the owner of the media platform reflects what he will be promoting: a scam or a normal project, and he himself does not always pay attention to this. But when on the same site around a decent project there is a bunch of scam ads, the decent project itself gets a reputation as a scam.

· Now there are many PR agents on the market without agencies who do everything on their own and collect their own database, often they are intermediaries, which makes the service more expensive, but at the same time it is impossible to check the reliability of their contacts and confirm the existence of such working connections

· It is believed that it is better to work with media platforms directly. However, now we can observe a fantastic rise in the price lists. Nowadays, there are more and more situations when intermediaries, thanks to many years of working contacts and agreements, show prices much lower than the sites themselves will show you directly.

· Due to the rise in value, today you can increasingly observe barter transactions — for a media platform, for example, a team will write an article, and the platform publishes it for free. But where there is no payment for the work of professionals (in this case, the content manager or copywriter, quality usually suffers again). Total savings should not harm the quality, as a result, this will hit the reputation and image of the project. In this case, followers will get only empty advertising messages.

Then we come to the conclusion that a successful PR strategy is built on two fundamentals:

· the company, its goals, objectives and products

· target audience

The task of the PR specialist in this case is not to sell profitably, but to submit the project, so as to satisfy the interests of the subscribers of the media, blog or consumers of the project’s product. To achieve this, you need to formulate brand messages, and then understand the editorial specifics of key publications, understand how they reflect the agenda and which headings you can get into. Understanding the problems of the industry is necessary not only for the PR specialist, but also for the founder of the company: it helps to stage sharp public speeches, to more widely assess the tasks of the business. In fact, the founder should lead his community as a papacy, and not stuff it with annoying advertising calls. PR tools may differ depending on the category of business, but are usually always used:

1. Press releases — Publicly significant news about the company, which is based on an informational event (for example, the announcement of annual revenue, the launch of an innovative product, the announcement of research results on any issue, information about an event, etc.). Send no more than two releases a month, keeping the rule: less is more. And it is worth working with those media platforms that show solid increases in traffic and viewing to their platform. The most important thing here is not to turn the press release into a spam virus.

2. Blog columns on behalf of the founder of the startup on a topic that reflects the activities of the company. An effective tool for increasing expertise and improving reputation. On average, you can publish from three to five columns per month. It is also worth posting with them on your social media accounts.

3. Interviews of top officials — to organize interviews you need a strong informational case 4. Comments — Monitor the agenda related to your area and feel free to offer comments to journalists. This works after you gain recognition. The first times will be difficult and trial, but then the journalists themselves will ask you for comments. The more often you and your project are mentioned on the Internet, the higher its indexing in search queries

5. Organization of events for the press, bloggers or other key audiences — depending on the occasion.

The crypto industry has experienced so many scandals, pyramids and scams that many fans have lost confidence in crypto projects at all. Regulators don’t let you relax either. If you plan to promote your project using PR tools, then you will face the following problems:

· Does the project exist or is it just an idea? The journalist of the publication does not want to write about people and a team who only think to do something.

· Ban and restrictions on advertising on Facebook, Google, Twitter and other sites.

· Showdown with regulatory authorities: you need to be precise in the wording so that the project does not see the signs of a pyramid, does not violate the laws “On Advertising” and “On Investment Activities” of different jurisdictions.

· The PR campaign should be broad, single point articles are not enough to gain the trust of users. PR must interface with other marketing and PR instruments

· At the same time, the PR campaign should not be obvious, for example, when the same text or review with one message is published in 10 media editions. Don’t skimp on the variety of content and diversification of tools

· PR campaigns should target two audiences: experienced and casual users, and even beginners.

We can summarize a few tips from promotion specialists on how to conduct PR campaigns for crypto projects:

· correctly allocate the budget — combine expensive and more economical packages and tools

· build a strategy and negotiate in advance with sites, generate news feeds and link articles to them

· build a content and media plan, and follow it

· choose a reliable agency with successful projects behind your back or gather your own PR team that is smart enough to assess the latest trends in the crypto market

· write a lot of articles, do not limit yourself to a few custom articles in top publications, write yourself and keep your blogs and accounts on social networks

· Do not forget about unique content, demonstrate that you are an expert in the field in which you work — this builds trust and interest, creates a brand

· Tell vivid real, interesting stories, cases, successes and failures, analyze the audience, the publishing house you are applying to, select the appropriate topics and words

· all social networks must be alive, the site must work, the manager must answer the mail right there, feedback is a must-have of your adequacy

· take guest publications, press releases, and paid placements, not only in the form of texts, but also on YouTube, in groups, on Twitter, in Telegram, in Reddit, and so on as far as possible and time

· PR articles are only part of the promotion, do not ignore other tools like bounty, targeting, banner ads, etc.

· if you do not believe in your project, do not even start its PR promotion

What does a PR specialist in the blockchain and crypto industry need to understand?

1. Basic concepts and terms. You will be helped by: communication with experts, articles from specialized media, numerous blockchain dictionaries

2. Key market players: companies and individuals

3. The main trends in blockchain and crypt at the time of the project’s PR campaign. For example: bitcoin rate, legal regulation, new projects and technologies, scandals and releases, etc. Subscribing to daily newsletters will also help.

4. The level of media interest in this topic. Monitor key public and business media for publications about blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Understand: how often and what they write about, how your PR campaign can fit into the context.

5. Similar blockchain campaigns of other competing projects. The number of projects always grows exponentially with hype.

6. Top Cryptomedia: Cointelegraph, CoinDesk, Bits Media etc

7. Understand the Features of Crypto Media. New media are constantly appearing: you need to monitor it regularly. They want more money than the rest of the public media. Overwhelmed with content. Coverage changes regularly: some grow, others fall. Websites actively reprint news from top media.

What will replace press releases in the future

The era of press releases is leaving us: publications that could lead you to your target audience are rarely published now. Instead of preparing press releases, it is worth focusing on creating an image of a leader in the company, where professionals in their field work. This is easier for tech startups to do than for “regular” social networks. If you offer an exceptional service, you need to establish yourself as an expert developer by taking advantage of the technological advantage of your project. Thus, you will bet on the uniqueness of the product itself. PR activity should be limited to actions that will allow you to create a certain positive image for yourself in the business and technological environment. As the “karma” of the startup and its leader grows, more and more people will learn about the service, and there will certainly be customers among them. At some point, the number of mentions of your startup by satisfied users will grow so much that the press will be directly interested in serious coverage of the project’s work. Startups usually have a large volume of tasks and limited resources. How to save time and prioritize? You can use services for PR specialists that exist on the market. Three formats are best known:

· native advertising, when a project or editorial staff writes unique content

· Press release

· and banner advertising

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Sergey Golubev (Сергей Голубев)

Economic problems of implementing additive technology

The course towards the advanced development of additive technologies determines the relevance of a thorough technical and economic analysis of the profitability of their implementation in each specific production. Economic issues are poorly reflected in statistics, which causes difficulties for specialists involved in the implementation of additive manufacturing. At the same time, the world economy has taken a course towards the advanced development and implementation of additive technologies of dimensional shaping, which predetermines the relevance of a thorough technical and economic analysis of the profitability of additive manufacturing. From a formal technological point of view, the introduction of additive technology at a particular enterprise is justified and expedient if, other things being equal, production costs per unit of output (specific resource costs) are reduced. Thus, it is important to calculate the difference between the workshop costs of manufacturing a part or assembly unit using two technology options:

• the existing technology of manufacturing a product using the mastered methods of obtaining blanks and machining;

• Technology for manufacturing a product-using additive shaping operations.

Before discussing the features of such a calculation, we will formulate some conditions, restrictions and assumptions:

1. A necessary condition for comparing the technical and economic efficiency of technology options is the identity of production results. Therefore, before carrying out a comparative analysis of the options, it is necessary to check the identity of the results in terms of the composition of the product, its quality, volume, and timing of the production assignment, time schedule and working conditions.

2. If the second option allows you to immediately obtain a component part of the product from n parts, then in order to ensure the identity of the result in terms of the composition of the product in the first option, the total unit costs for the manufacture of each of the n parts, plus the cost of their assembly, transport and storage, should be taken into account.

3. If the second option provides a reduction in the cycle of technological preparation of production and the production cycle, then for comparison it is necessary to ensure the identity of the options in terms of time. Reducing the delivery time of marketable products to the market is especially important in the manufacture of marketable products new in terms of consumer properties in conditions of fierce competition. This circumstance can be taken into account as a lost profit from the sale of products according to the additive option. Such a calculation often raises questions due to a possible change in the market situation, the level of prices for products, but it makes it possible to quite assess the important competitive advantage of additive technologies.

4. It is assumed that both options provide the same product quality, due to the technical conditions for manufacturing (identity in product quality). Otherwise, the change in the functional properties of the product must be assessed during the calculation, guided by the available recommendations. Thus, it is recommended to convert the number of products of higher quality into a larger number of products of ordinary quality with a change in the corresponding costs.

Considering the above, the structure of the cost of manufacturing and assembly:

1) according to the first version of the technology is presented in the form

C1 = ∑ (C1зi + C1мi) + Cсб, i = 1

2) The second version – С2 = Спр + Сад + Спс,

where C1, C2 are the total cost of manufacturing the final product according to the compared technology options, C1зi is the cost of obtaining a blank of the i-th part of an assembly unit, C1mi is the cost of machining the i-th part, m is the number of manufactured parts of an assembly unit, Cсб is the cost of assembling a component products, taking into account the cost of all other components according to the specification of the assembly unit, Спр – the cost of preliminary (previous) operations, Сад – the cost of the operation (operations) of additive shaping, Спс – the cost of subsequent operations of the final processing of the product.

Note that additive technologies of layer-by-layer growing of products from powder do not allow getting rid of residual porosity, which makes it necessary in some cases to use subsequent technologies, for example, hot isostatic pressing, infiltration, and heat treatment. As shown above, only about 19% of additive manufacturing products are used as the final product. It is assumed that the starting materials for the second option, for example, metal powder, are purchased and are not produced at the enterprise. For a technical and economic assessment of the effectiveness of two technology options, the method of direct cost calculation is used, according to which the choice of the best option is carried out according to two criteria:

• calculated coefficient of comparative economic efficiency Ер

• or according to the estimated payback period Tr.

The preference rule is expressed by inequalities of the form Eр> En, Tr <Tн, where the index “н” corresponds to the normative value of the corresponding criterion. When finding these criteria, it is necessary to calculate the difference between the total workshop costs in the transition from the first option to the second (∆С = С1 – С2). Where the difference between the costs of basic materials, wages, depreciation, and so on is compared. In the general case, the difference in material costs ∆Cm is calculated using a well-known formula, knowing the wholesale prices per unit mass of material and waste, the rate of material consumption and the mass of waste per item according to options. The given data make it possible to estimate the ratio of the cost of the material during additive shaping (cm2) to its cost during machining (cm1) of 0.5–5.

The peculiarity of comparative calculations in our case is as follows:

• First, as a rule, the use of the additive shaping operation can significantly reduce the number of operations in the technological process of manufacturing a part.

• Secondly, the piece-calculation time for the operation of additive shaping is, as a rule, tens of hours.

Since modern equipment has been operating in automatic mode for a long time, it is advisable to use multi-station service and combination of professions during its operation. As a result, the machine and labor intensity of the operation are significantly different. Therefore, for each method of additive shaping, a calculated expression for machine or operational tфыеьime is obtained based on the existing methodology for standardizing technological operations, taking into account the specifics of physicochemical processes for obtaining bulk solid forms in each case. The main disadvantage of layer-by-layer synthesis of products of a spatially complex shape is the relatively large amount of machine processing time. This results in a high proportion of equipment depreciation costs in the costing. So, according to the available data, the share of costs for depreciation of the machine can in some cases reach 70% of the cost of the product.

To reduce the spending of this cost item, it is recommended to maximize the load, operate the equipment seven days a week, preferably in 2-3 shifts. Due to the rapid obsolescence of such equipment, the payback period should not exceed 5 years. According to experts, in the coming years, a noticeable reduction in prices for equipment for SLS and SLM should be expected, which will have a favorable effect on the sales conjuncture and the pace of implementation of relevant technologies. To improve economic performance when introducing Additive technologies in production, it is recommended to equip the additive forming section with several machines with different capabilities, for example, SLM 50 + SLM 300 (400 W):

• SLM machines with powerful lasers are more efficient and provide a lower technological cost. Machines with a less powerful laser and a smaller spot diameter provide a better quality of the surface layer of products;

• the distribution of the range of products of different standard sizes between machines with different dimensions of the working area leads to saving powder and reducing auxiliary time.

Benefits that can also be taken into account in the feasibility study also include a reduction in the number of workers and the cost of ensuring life safety, a decrease in shop and plant overhead costs due to cheaper logistics.

Organizational and technical aspect

When mastering technologies, the description of their characteristics and conditions for implementation becomes an urgent task. The conceptual apparatus is specified, the relationship is established between the parameters of physical and chemical processes that ensure the synthesis of a solid of a given configuration, and the technological characteristics of additive shaping operations. Such work will lead in the near future to the creation of a regulatory and reference base for additive technologies. The factors holding back the development of additive technologies in production include the following:

• material properties

• manufacturing precision and surface quality of parts

• relatively low performance

• high capital investments

• the equipment is still imperfect

• differences in geometry and properties between identical parts manufactured in different installations

• Closed architecture of most Additive machines, which does not allow researchers and technologists to vary the processing conditions.

Along with the listed, organizational and technical factors limiting the development and implementation of additive manufacturing, include the following:

1. Standardization of additive manufacturing processes started and actively developed by the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). A number of important standards have already been created, but the development of a fairly complete set of international standards, the development of national standards will take time.

2. Equipment certification is a fundamentally important factor for the implementation of Additive Manufacturing and is a prerequisite for product certification. The main problems of equipment qualification can be formulated as follows:

- Lack of standards for materials, technologies and equipment;

- A large number of equipment of different design and principles of operation;

- Insufficient experience of its industrial operation and lack of statistics;

- The absence in some cases of the results of testing products in real conditions, reliable data characterizing the physical and mechanical properties of products;

- Weak metrological support;

- closed architecture of equipment;

- the existing business model of sales and after-sales service of equipment actually turns the installation into a black box, restricts the ability of technologists and plant operators to increase the efficiency of Additive technologies;

- Time and money for the certification procedure.

3. The factors listed above make it difficult to certify Additive Products. So far, applications have typically been accompanied by extremely rigorous testing to ensure that product properties meet specifications, greatly reducing the benefits and efficiency of additive manufacturing.

4. It should be emphasized that the creation of technologies and equipment of the third and fourth classes requires not only the rapid development of the scientific foundations of mechanical engineering technology in relation to new processes and methods of shaping, but also advanced training of engineering and technical personnel capable of solving new design and technological problems

Main directions of development

An effective way to increase the productivity of equipment for additive shaping is the development of new methods, different from layer-by-layer synthesis. Thus, we note the emergence of an additive shaping method based on the bulk synthesis of the required shape from a liquid interface. This method – continuous liquid interface production (CLIP) – provides a high speed of forming (in 25–100, and in the future, according to experts, up to 1000 times higher than methods of layer-by-layer synthesis). It is also characterized by isotropy of the structure and properties of the object of production, low surface roughness, and high resolution when printing the product. It is expected to receive a spatially complex object, the functional properties of which correspond to the requirements for the finished product, in real time.

Let us note the trend towards the development of combined technologies and equipment of the fourth class. Such technologies will provide a further reduction in the duration of the technological cycle and will allow using the advantages of both subtractive and additive technologies. For example, Solidica has developed the UAM (Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing) technology, based on which Fabrisonic produces hybrid machines of the SonicLayer R200 type, which provide additive-subtractive processing of products made of plastic metals and composite materials with a metal or polymer matrix. Mitsubishi LUMEX has begun supplying the Avance ‑ 25 Integrated System, which combines SLS technology and milling. The preparation for production of the MPA-40 complex, which integrates the capabilities of 5-axis milling and 3D gas-dynamic spraying, was announced by Hermle. The use of such technologies and associated machine tool systems will also require a feasibility study, taking into account the above features.

Conclusion

The development of additive manufacturing was accompanied by excitement and overestimated expectations. Despite the fact that many consider Additive Technologies to be breakthrough and key in the transition to the sixth technological order, so far, their impact on the scale of global production remains moderate. A realistic approach and analysis of the experience of the industrial “nano revolution” that has recently swept the world allow us to hope that Additive Manufacturing in the foreseeable future will occupy its rather extensive niche in world production.

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Sergey Golubev (Сергей Голубев)

Crynet Marketing Solutions, vtorov.tech, EU structural funds, ICO/STO/IEO projects, NGO & investment projects, project management