# Initial Coin Offering (ICO)

*Crypto & Digital Assets — Finicade finance glossary*

An ICO sells newly created tokens to the public to fund a project, typically before any product exists. The 2017 boom raised billions with little more than a whitepaper, and regulators later determined that many were unregistered securities offerings. The mechanism survives under other names, but the era of raising tens of millions from a PDF is legally closed in most major markets.

**Also known as:** ICO, token sale, IEO

**Related terms:** [Tokenomics](https://finicade.com/glossary/tokenomics), [Rug Pull](https://finicade.com/glossary/rug-pull), [IPO (Initial Public Offering)](https://finicade.com/glossary/ipo), [SEC](https://finicade.com/glossary/sec), [Airdrop](https://finicade.com/glossary/airdrop)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/initial-coin-offering