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Earlier this year, investments in ICOs were all the rage. Enthusiasm for new cryptocurrencies was fueled largely by the well-publicized success of Bitcoin, which has lost approximately 80% of its value this year. Everybody who had missed out on Bitcoin wanted a chance to get in on the action, and get in fast on the new ICOs.  It is easy for investors to get caught up in the urgency and hype of the crypto marketplace and hastily sink their money into the latest ICO, without much information about the token or its promoters. Unfortunately, investors also are not aware that initial coin offerings may be taking advantage of their novelty to quietly evade federal and state regulatory systems that are designed to protect investors from fraud. In many instances, purchasers of coins in a new ICO receive nothing in exchange for their contributions but the promoter's promise to build some online service for which the coin will be the accepted currency.  But so far, most of these services are still not up and running. When a promoter abandons the project or simply fails to complete it, the investor’s entire financial contribution is in jeopardy. There is risk in all investments, but an investment that dodges regulatory oversight destroys the level playing field between promoter and investor by stripping investors of legal protections.