via professional Investors who know the risks and there is normally a functional business which generates cashflow
(if not profit) with several years of operation behind each one.
IPOs exist as a mechanism to "cash out" the VC investor groups via a public marketplace ..
Risk is necessarily transferred from the VCs to the general investing public ..
It's the primary VC exit strategy ..
ICOs are at the first stage of investment and are a mechanism to "cash in" or crowd fund an "idea" ..
Weather the "idea" being financed via ICO has merit or weather the management has the ability
to deliver on the promises in the [ANN] thread is the "risk" that we individually assume when we
"invest" or "speculate" on such ventures ..
I'm sure at some point the SEC will attempt to establish "rules" for US based participants ..
Most likely following a spectacular ICO failure/fraud or when/if someone in authority
reads Mr DeRose's diatribe and connects the dots ..
Triff ..