user52972: All I know about ICO is that some companies make their own coin and then those coins are bought by investors. So looks cool :) But why the companies should be happy if they will have more investors which will be buy their coins? How will companies get that money from investors?

user208: Cryptocurrencies, and by extension issued tokens, live in a legal grey zone.
ICOs are just a means to use blockchain-issued tokens as a funding mechanism. If it weren't for the legal grey area, it seems to me that they're exactly the thing that investor accreditation laws are intended to prevent: raising money from people who are vulnerable to being scammed.
From what I've seen so far, almost every ICO is just lots of talk, without any indication that there is a plan or competence to implement anything but the off-the-shelf ICO smart contract. In other words, a modern incarnation of a pump-and-dump scam.
So to answer your question: the advantage is raising lots of money quickly, without needing to follow up on any promises.
I believe that ICOs are putting the whole ecosystem in a bad light, and are likely to result in legal problems.

52972: <p>All I know about ICO is that some companies make their own coin and then those coins are bought by investors. So looks cool :) But why the companies should be happy if they will have more investors which will be buy their coins? How will companies get that money from investors?</p>
 208: <p>Cryptocurrencies, and by extension issued tokens, live in a legal grey zone.</p>

<p>ICOs are just a means to use blockchain-issued tokens as a funding mechanism. If it weren't for the legal grey area, it seems to me that they're exactly the thing that investor accreditation laws are intended to prevent: raising money from people who are vulnerable to being scammed.</p>

<p>From what I've seen so far, almost every ICO is just lots of talk, without any indication that there is a plan or competence to implement anything but the off-the-shelf ICO smart contract. In other words, a modern incarnation of a pump-and-dump scam.</p>

<p>So to answer your question: the advantage is raising lots of money quickly, without needing to follow up on any promises.</p>

<p>I believe that ICOs are putting the whole ecosystem in a bad light, and are likely to result in legal problems.</p>
