https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/05/cryptocurrency-boom-stalls-as-regulators-focus-on-icos

Initial coin offerings involve selling a number of crytographic tokens to investors at the launch of a project

The latest cryptocurrency boom is beginning to stall as regulators worldwide turn their attention to the “initial coin offerings”, which have driven a precipitous rise in the sector’s market value reaching a high of $177bn (£136bn).