The upcoming SONM ICO has a couple things that makes it more complicated than most ICOs. First, US residents are not allowed. Whether or not you follow that restriction is up to you, but that is what the website says. Second, they are issuing ETH based Tokens for your payments. Tokens are slightly different than coins.
In a typical ICO, you sign up for an account, you send them some funds, and they put their coins in your account. Once their coins become popular enough to be listed on exchanges such as Poloniex or Bitfinex, you can move the coins there and do whatever you want with them.
The SONM ICO will exchange ETH coins for SNM Tokens. You can pretty much think of those tokens as being just like coins. I hold some Augur (REP Ticker) on Poloniex which is the same kind of tokens as these will be. They are both tokens that are created on the ETH blockchain. Whereas BTC is a coin on the Bitcoin blockchain, ETH is a coin on the ETH Blockchain. But, the ETH blockchain also has the ability for anyone to create their own branded "Token". That way they don't have to go through all the work of creating a new blockchain, they just create a "smart contract" on ETH to define their tokens. This is why I personally feel ETH continues to be undervalued and at some point may actually surpass BTC as the "top" coin. It is like BTC Version 2.0.
This brings us to the second issue about the SNM tokens - where to store them. Because they are ETH based, you need to store them in a full blown ETH wallet. I say "full blown" because some wallets, such as those used by exchanges, aren't necessarily set up to handle custom tokens. They can handle ETH, but they can't handle the SNM tokens. So, you would need to use a wallet that can handle tokens for you.
I use the Mist based wallet available here:
Mist Wallet - How-To Guide
You download the Setup file and run it on Windows (Linux and probably Max versions available as well). Then you have to wait as it downloads the whole ETH blockchain to your computer. This blockchain is many gigabytes in size, so it can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The main downside of using a PC wallet is the blockchain has to keep in sync. The wallet does that for you automatically, but it does take time. Once the blockchain is in sync I think you'll find the wallet easy to use and there is ample help available online.
You can also use www.myetherwallet.com. I have a wallet there as well. It is online so you don't have to download the blockchain, but it is a full blown ETH wallet. The downside of this one is it is fairly technical, so it is not necessarily the most user friendly interface. Give it a try and see if it works for you. If so, you are all set. If not, go for the more easier to use Mist wallet.
Once you have your ETH wallet setup, you should move some ETH into it. When the ICO starts, you'll send some ETH to an address they provide on their website and then they'll either ask you for an address for which they should send your SNM tokens, or they will automatically send your SNM tokens to the ETH address from which you sent your ETH.
That's how the Bancor ICO worked a few days ago. I sent ETH from my wallet and Bancor sent BNT tokens back to my Mist ETH Wallet.
They typically have a count-down timer running for when the ICO starts. You can't send funds ahead of time, you can only send them when the timer hits zero. The SOMN time is located at the URL below, as are some FAQ's regarding the SOMN ICO:
SOMN ICO Home Page
Looking at the ICO timer right now, it appears the ICO will take place on Thursday, 6/15 at Noon CT. Typically they go pretty fast, sometimes in a matter of minutes. So you do want to send your ETH as soon as the time hits zero.
They are going to pay 2424 SMN tokens for every ETH you send, so they are selling them for about 16.5 cents per SMN token.
Don't worry if you miss out on the ICO. The coin will be available for trading on various exchanges almost immediately. So even if you don't get coins right at the time of the ICO, you can buy them later on.
In a typical ICO, you sign up for an account, you send them some funds, and they put their coins in your account. Once their coins become popular enough to be listed on exchanges such as Poloniex or Bitfinex, you can move the coins there and do whatever you want with them.
The SONM ICO will exchange ETH coins for SNM Tokens. You can pretty much think of those tokens as being just like coins. I hold some Augur (REP Ticker) on Poloniex which is the same kind of tokens as these will be. They are both tokens that are created on the ETH blockchain. Whereas BTC is a coin on the Bitcoin blockchain, ETH is a coin on the ETH Blockchain. But, the ETH blockchain also has the ability for anyone to create their own branded "Token". That way they don't have to go through all the work of creating a new blockchain, they just create a "smart contract" on ETH to define their tokens. This is why I personally feel ETH continues to be undervalued and at some point may actually surpass BTC as the "top" coin. It is like BTC Version 2.0.
This brings us to the second issue about the SNM tokens - where to store them. Because they are ETH based, you need to store them in a full blown ETH wallet. I say "full blown" because some wallets, such as those used by exchanges, aren't necessarily set up to handle custom tokens. They can handle ETH, but they can't handle the SNM tokens. So, you would need to use a wallet that can handle tokens for you.
I use the Mist based wallet available here:
Mist Wallet - How-To Guide
You download the Setup file and run it on Windows (Linux and probably Max versions available as well). Then you have to wait as it downloads the whole ETH blockchain to your computer. This blockchain is many gigabytes in size, so it can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The main downside of using a PC wallet is the blockchain has to keep in sync. The wallet does that for you automatically, but it does take time. Once the blockchain is in sync I think you'll find the wallet easy to use and there is ample help available online.
You can also use www.myetherwallet.com. I have a wallet there as well. It is online so you don't have to download the blockchain, but it is a full blown ETH wallet. The downside of this one is it is fairly technical, so it is not necessarily the most user friendly interface. Give it a try and see if it works for you. If so, you are all set. If not, go for the more easier to use Mist wallet.
Once you have your ETH wallet setup, you should move some ETH into it. When the ICO starts, you'll send some ETH to an address they provide on their website and then they'll either ask you for an address for which they should send your SNM tokens, or they will automatically send your SNM tokens to the ETH address from which you sent your ETH.
That's how the Bancor ICO worked a few days ago. I sent ETH from my wallet and Bancor sent BNT tokens back to my Mist ETH Wallet.
They typically have a count-down timer running for when the ICO starts. You can't send funds ahead of time, you can only send them when the timer hits zero. The SOMN time is located at the URL below, as are some FAQ's regarding the SOMN ICO:
SOMN ICO Home Page
Looking at the ICO timer right now, it appears the ICO will take place on Thursday, 6/15 at Noon CT. Typically they go pretty fast, sometimes in a matter of minutes. So you do want to send your ETH as soon as the time hits zero.
They are going to pay 2424 SMN tokens for every ETH you send, so they are selling them for about 16.5 cents per SMN token.
Don't worry if you miss out on the ICO. The coin will be available for trading on various exchanges almost immediately. So even if you don't get coins right at the time of the ICO, you can buy them later on.
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