Blockchain and Crypto
Cheatsheet: Everything you need to know about ICOs
- The first token sale took place in 2013, but has boomed in popularity this year bringing total funding to $2.3 billion
- In the time since the SEC layed down the rules on how to treat token sales, two countries have have banned them and four celebrities began promoting them

Token sales, also known as initial coin offerings (or ICOs), have exploded in popularity this year.
The frenzy seemed to have quieted for a moment after U.S. regulators came out and told crypto-enthusiasts that in order to play by the rules they have to treat tokens like the legal securities they are. But in the last months a string of celebrities have posted endorsements of different token sale projects. DJ Khaled posted on Instagram about Centra, the debit card and wallet powered by tokens. Paris Hilton tweeted about Lydian, a company developing ways to reduce ad fraud with blockchain technology.
In the same time period, the governments of China and South Korea have banned token sales over their concern for potential financial scams. But the speed and scale in token sale activity is surprising even to optimists. "There are companies raising money in the low to mid eight figures that I've never even heard of," said Jonathan Mohan, founder of the Bitcoin NYC meetup. Here's what you need to know about token sales -- essentially funding mechanisms for new companies in the form of crypto issuances -- today. By the numbers:
- Total funding to date: $2.3 billion
- Value of largest token sale: $262 million (Filecoin)
- Token sales in the pipeline: At least 300
- New funding in a single month: $574.4 million in July 2017
- Countries that have banned ICOs: two — China and South Korea
- Celebrities promoting ICOs: four — DJ Khaled, Paris Hilton, Jamie Foxx, rapper The Game and Floyd Mayweather