Benefits (with concrete examples)

  • Ethereum (2014): From July 22 to Sept 2, 2014, Ethereum’s ICO raised about $18.3M (over 31,500 BTC). It went on to become the key smart-contract base for DeFi and NFTs.

  • Brave / BAT (2017): Raised ~$35M in under 30 seconds. By 2025 the ecosystem had grown to ~97.8M monthly active users, and the token’s use cases (ad rewards, creator payouts) were implemented.

  • Filecoin (2017 → live): $52M presale + $205M ICO. Mainnet launched Oct 15, 2020; by 2025 Q2 the network reported ~1,100 PiB of active stored data—evidence of real demand.

  • Chainlink (2017): Raised $32M. Decentralized oracles supplying off-chain data are now widely integrated across projects.

Takeaway: When capital → product → real usage lined up (Ethereum/Brave/Filecoin/Chainlink), the ICO served as an effective initial accelerator.

Harms (where problems surfaced)

  • BitConnect (2017–2018): High-yield “program” deemed a Ponzi. U.S. DOJ cited ~$2B scale; courts ordered $17M+ in restitution in 2023.

  • Telegram / GRAM (2018–2020): Raised ~$1.7B, but the SEC argued it was an unregistered securities offering. June 26, 2020 settlement: $1.2B returned + $18.5M penalty; token distribution aborted.

  • EOS / Block.one (2017–2018): Raised ~$4B; in 2019 the SEC settled for $24M over unregistered securities issues—showing that even record-size raises must pass regulatory muster.

  • Tezos (2017): Raised ~$232M, then faced governance disputes and class actions. Settled in 2020 for $25M (without a court ruling on illegality).

  • Centra Tech (2017): Celebrity-promoted ICO found to be fraudulent. Co-founders convicted; promoters were also charged for undisclosed paid touting.

  • China’s blanket ban (2017/9/4): PBoC and other regulators banned ICOs and ordered funds returned—a stark example of jurisdictions where ICOs are fundamentally disallowed.

Takeaway: Fraud, unregistered sales, flawed tokenomics/governance, and prohibitive local rules can quickly trigger distribution halts, repayments, and sanctions.

Practical implications (ultra-brief)

  • For investors: Check the jurisdiction and applicable law, the white paper’s use of proceeds & lockups, presence of third-party vetting (e.g., IEO), custody/transfer limits, and governance/conflicts. Treat ICO exposure as high risk; use small, diversified positions.

  • For issuers: Assume existing regimes apply (e.g., EU MiCA, U.S. Howey analysis). Favor registered/qualified paths like IEO/STO and design issuance within the regulatory perimeter.


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