<s>
An	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offering	I-Application
(	O
ICO	O
)	O
or	O
initial	O
currency	O
offering	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
funding	O
using	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
ICO	O
,	O
a	O
quantity	O
of	O
cryptocurrency	O
is	O
sold	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
"	O
tokens	O
"	O
(	O
"	O
coins	O
"	O
)	O
to	O
speculators	B-Application
or	O
investors	O
,	O
in	O
exchange	O
for	O
legal	O
tender	O
or	O
other	O
(	O
generally	O
established	O
and	O
more	O
stable	O
)	O
cryptocurrencies	O
such	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
or	O
Ether	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
token	B-Application
sale	I-Application
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
an	O
ICO	O
)	O
was	O
held	O
by	O
Mastercoin	O
in	O
July	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ethereum	B-Application
raised	O
money	O
with	O
a	O
token	B-Application
sale	I-Application
in	O
2014	O
,	O
raising	O
around	O
31,000	O
BTC	O
in	O
July	O
,	O
equal	O
to	O
approximately	O
$18.3	O
million	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICOs	O
and	O
token	B-Application
sales	I-Application
became	O
popular	O
in	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
,	O
the	O
ICO	O
for	O
a	O
new	O
web	O
browser	O
called	O
Brave	B-Application
generated	O
about	O
$35	O
million	O
in	O
under	O
30	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Messaging	O
app	O
developer	O
Kik	B-Protocol
's	O
September	O
2017	O
ICO	O
raised	O
nearly	O
$100	O
million	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
November	O
2017	O
,	O
there	O
were	O
around	O
50	O
offerings	O
a	O
month	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
highest-grossing	O
ICO	O
as	O
of	O
January	O
2018	O
,	O
being	O
Filecoin	O
raising	O
$257	O
million	O
(	O
and	O
$200	O
million	O
of	O
that	O
within	O
the	O
first	O
hour	O
of	O
their	O
token	B-Application
sale	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ICOs	O
are	O
sometimes	O
called	O
"	O
token	B-Application
sales	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ethereum	B-Application
is	O
(	O
as	O
of	O
February	O
2018	O
)	O
the	O
leading	O
blockchain	B-Application
platform	O
for	O
ICOs	O
with	O
more	O
than	O
80%	O
market	O
share	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tokens	O
are	O
generally	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
ERC-20	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
January	O
30	O
,	O
2018	O
,	O
Facebook	B-Application
banned	O
advertisements	O
for	O
ICOs	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
for	O
cryptocurrencies	O
and	O
binary	O
options	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
April	O
2018	O
,	O
ICO	O
advertising	O
has	O
been	O
banned	O
not	O
only	O
by	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
but	O
by	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
and	O
MailChimp	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facebook	B-Application
changed	O
their	O
mind	O
and	O
June	O
26	O
,	O
2018	O
announced	O
to	O
reopen	O
for	O
approved	O
advertisers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Efforts	O
are	O
under	O
way	O
to	O
deploy	O
ICO	O
technology	O
to	O
represent	O
regulated	O
securities	O
,	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Security	B-Protocol
Token	I-Protocol
Offerings	I-Protocol
(	O
STOs	O
)	O
,	O
Digital	O
Security	O
Offerings	O
(	O
DSOs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
when	O
listed	O
on	O
a	O
regulated	O
stock	O
exchange	O
,	O
tokenized	O
IPOs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
ISPO	O
,	O
users	O
stake	O
their	O
cryptocurrency	O
holdings	O
(	O
mostly	O
notably	O
ADA	B-Protocol
)	O
through	O
a	O
stake-pool	O
operated	O
by	O
the	O
cryptocurrency	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
October	O
2021	O
more	O
than	O
35,000	O
participants	O
across	O
the	O
world	O
contributed	O
more	O
than	O
600	O
million	O
ADA	B-Protocol
(	O
worth	O
more	O
than	O
$1	O
billion	O
USD	O
in	O
October	O
2021	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Participants	O
received	O
0.065	O
$MELD	O
/	O
$ADA	O
staked	O
/	O
epoch	O
while	O
keeping	O
full	O
ownership	O
of	O
their	O
ADA	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Snapchat	B-Application
,	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
and	O
MailChimp	B-Application
all	O
have	O
limited	O
companies	O
from	O
marketing	O
ICOs	O
via	O
their	O
platforms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jimmy	O
Wales	O
,	O
founder	O
of	O
Wikipedia	O
,	O
stated	O
in	O
2017	O
that	O
"	O
there	O
are	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
these	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offerings	I-Application
which	O
in	O
my	O
opinion	O
are	O
absolute	O
scams	O
and	O
people	O
should	O
be	O
very	O
wary	O
of	O
things	O
that	O
are	O
going	O
on	O
in	O
that	O
area.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Chinese	O
internet	O
platforms	O
Baidu	B-Application
,	O
Tencent	O
,	O
and	O
Weibo	O
have	O
also	O
prohibited	O
ICO	O
advertisements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
some	O
investors	O
flooded	O
into	O
ICOs	O
in	O
hopes	O
of	O
participating	O
in	O
the	O
financial	O
gains	O
of	O
similar	O
size	O
to	O
those	O
enjoyed	O
by	O
early	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
or	O
Ethereum	B-Application
speculators	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Utility	O
tokens	O
may	O
have	O
value	O
because	O
they	O
enable	O
the	O
holder	O
to	O
exchange	O
the	O
token	O
for	O
a	O
good	O
or	O
service	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
week	O
later	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
a	O
Chinese	O
financial	O
official	O
stated	O
on	O
Chinese	O
national	O
television	O
that	O
the	O
ban	O
on	O
ICOs	O
is	O
only	O
temporary	O
until	O
ICO	O
regulatory	O
policies	O
are	O
in	O
place.FranceAs	O
of	O
October	O
2017	O
,	O
the	O
Autorité	O
des	O
marchés	O
financiers	O
(	O
AMF	O
)	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
regulations	O
governing	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
blockchain	B-Application
technology	I-Application
in	O
capital	O
raising	O
transactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hong	O
KongThe	O
Securities	O
and	O
Futures	O
Commission	O
released	O
a	O
statement	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
explaining	O
that	O
tokens	O
may	O
constitute	O
securities	O
for	O
purposes	O
of	O
the	O
Securities	O
and	O
Futures	O
Ordinance	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
case	O
dealing	O
in	O
such	O
tokens	O
would	O
be	O
a	O
regulated	O
activity	O
under	O
Hong	O
Kong	O
law.Isle	O
of	O
ManWorking	O
on	O
regulating	O
ICOs.JerseyIn	O
December	O
2017	O
,	O
Arc	O
Fiduciary	O
Ltd	O
,	O
based	O
in	O
Jersey	O
,	O
launched	O
the	O
"	O
Arc	O
Reserve	O
Currency	O
"	O
,	O
an	O
asset-backed	O
cryptocurrency	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
Ethereum	B-Application
blockchain.	O
,	O
working	O
closely	O
with	O
the	O
Jersey	O
Financial	O
Services	O
Regulator	O
to	O
achieve	O
a	O
workable	O
regulatory	O
solution	O
for	O
the	O
ICO	O
The	O
Arc	O
Reserve	O
Currency	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
continuing	O
regulatory	O
status	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
a	O
notable	O
example	O
of	O
how	O
cryptocurrency	O
operators	O
are	O
increasingly	O
working	O
with	O
regulators	O
to	O
improve	O
the	O
investment	O
landscape	O
for	O
holders	O
of	O
cryptocurrencies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
encompasses	O
ICOs	O
and	O
subjects	O
them	O
to	O
financial	O
controls	O
and	O
standards.South	O
KoreaThe	O
Korean	O
Financial	O
Services	O
Commission	O
prohibited	O
ICOs	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
and	O
promised	O
"	O
stern	O
penalties	O
"	O
for	O
violations.SwitzerlandAlthough	O
Switzerland	B-Protocol
was	O
previously	O
viewed	O
as	O
a	O
friendly	O
jurisdiction	O
to	O
coin	O
offerings	O
,	O
the	O
Swiss	O
Financial	O
Market	O
Supervisory	O
Authority	O
announced	O
an	O
investigation	O
of	O
an	O
unspecified	O
number	O
of	O
coin	O
offerings	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
,	O
and	O
would	O
examine	O
whether	O
these	O
offerings	O
were	O
in	O
compliance	O
with	O
Swiss	O
regulations.TurkeyAlthough	O
cryptocurrencies	O
are	O
legal	O
in	O
Turkey	O
,	O
cryptocurrency	O
based	O
business	O
models	O
are	O
not	O
,	O
making	O
initial	B-Application
coin	I-Application
offerings	I-Application
illegal	O
as	O
a	O
result.United	O
Arab	O
EmiratesThe	O
Abu	O
Dhabi	O
Global	O
Market	O
issued	O
official	O
guidance	O
on	O
ICOs	O
in	O
October	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SEC	O
did	O
not	O
state	O
that	O
all	O
blockchain	B-Application
tokens	O
(	O
ICOs	O
)	O
would	O
necessarily	O
be	O
considered	O
securities	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
determination	O
would	O
be	O
made	O
on	O
a	O
case-by-case	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
SEC	O
charged	O
Maksim	B-Application
Zaslavskiy	I-Application
for	O
fraud	O
in	O
September	O
2017	O
in	O
connection	O
with	O
the	O
ICOs	O
for	O
RECoin	O
and	O
DRC	O
World	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2019	O
,	O
block.one	B-Protocol
agreed	O
to	O
settle	O
charges	O
related	O
to	O
its	O
$4	O
billion	O
unregistered	O
ICO	O
of	O
EOS.IO	B-Protocol
for	O
a	O
$24	O
million	O
penalty	O
.	O
</s>
