The manifesto – created by Professor Michael Mainelli (pictured above), the executive chairman of Z/Yen Group – is a voluntary code of conduct created in collaboration with the finance industry and blockchain technology leaders.

The manifesto aims to establish new standards for initial coin offerings (ICO) and initial token offerings (ITO), the fundraising mediums that enable investors to back companies using cryptocurrency.

The ‘London Fundraising Token Manifesto’ has been modelled on the Chartered Institute of Investment & Securities' code of conduct.

This features eight principles, including honesty, integrity and fairness when dealing with consumers.

The ICO/ITO market has attracted more than $2bn worth of cryptocurrency investment in 2017, and has outperformed a number of established public exchanges.

This has led many to believe that the ICO/ITO model – and the technology that enables it – holds a real potential for the future.

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Professor Mainelli said: “Those of us in the Long Finance movement – who are excited about the technology – equally look to the long term over the short. 

“Corporate ethical frameworks and professional codes of conduct matter. 

“Over time, ‘meum fidem, meum pactum’, ‘my word is my bond’, prevails. 

“This proto-bubble needs a strong dose of self-regulation and we hope our manifesto is not so token, but leads to real behaviour change.”

Antony Abell, signatory of the ‘London Fundraising Token Manifesto’ and co-founder of TrustMe, said: “The lack of confidence in initial coin offerings and initial token offerings is of growing concern to finance professionals who are keen to uphold standards in the City.

“Legitimate companies who have a genuine product offering and wish to access this new, more agile form of fundraising have suffered at the expense of unscrupulous firms.”