The number of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, has skyrocketed in the past two years as more companies flock to the new and controversial way to raise capital.
In an ICO, companies create a digital token or coin, then sell it to investors in exchange for cash or more commonly, cryptocurrency, usually bitcoin or ether.
Despite increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world, blockchain research firm Smith + Crown told CNBC that funds raised through ICOs are increasing quickly.
About $6.6 billion was raised through 217 ICO sales for the first quarter of this year, a 65 percent increase from the $3.9 billion raised in the last quarter of 2017.
Cryptocurrencies are underpinned by the blockchain technology, which is why at one time, ICOs were carried out mostly by blockchain start-ups.
But many other types of companies are flocking to ICOs today, even if those firms do not have or require the use of the blockchain.
A significant proportion of ICOs show signs of fraud. In a review of 1,450 digital coin offerings, the Wall Street Journal found that about 19 per cent of these ICOs, which had raised about $1 billion in total, raised red flags that included “plagiarized investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams.”
