By Kia Kokalitcheva | Axios
“Initial coin offerings” are still in their early days, but they’ve already attracted a huge amount of interest (or hype) as well as scrutiny from regulators. At least two of these new tokens or digital currencies recently reached a new milestone: $1 billion in market cap. At the same time, others are folding in the face of potential legal troubles with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Why it matters: Expect more of both of these. Initial coin offerings are an unregulated way to raise funds for a new cryptocurrency venture. Tokens and cryptocurrencies are still in the honeymoon phase, drawing interest from everyone. But this hype is also putting pressure on regulators to step in.
