In September 2017, the South Korean government decided to ban ICO's. Flat-rate.
This undifferentiated prohibition seemed to the government to be self-evident as necessary to protect its citizens against fraud. This reason is more conclusive, if you get the following straight:
If you have a business idea you have to formulate it first. Then it needs funding. Anyone who has ever written a business plan and presented, explained and defended it at a bank or an investor knows how much work that is. There are reasons why filling out a template from the internet is not enough for this group of potential investors.
With an ICO I have a lot of potential investors and most of them have little knowledge of business economics.
I met such a project at the beginning of the year. The goal was to market and reward Internet advertising within a blockchain. The Coin of the project should be used as a means of payment for advertising, as well as being eligible for participation in the network's profits. Since the project was still great for me. Then came the market and competition analysis. This was to explain that google's adsense is currently market leader, but that it would have been replaced within a year because of the advantages of blockchain technology. Sounds great, right? For people who are in good faith and hope for a warm rain of money the trap snatches here. Anyone who has read further to find out how the market leadership should be conquered, was unfortunately disappointed. No strategy, no partners, not the slightest advanced planning. Despite generated capital, there is still no sign of implementation of the project.
Another problem for legislators in the handling of ICO's is simply the legal classification. If you take Binance, then the company's coin is a bonus / rebate system. Take KuCoin shares are the participation in the daily turnover, which puts them legally at least in the vicinity of securities. Bitcoin behaves like a currency. Ethereum is theoretically whatever you want it to be. The decision in the US whether Ethers are classified as securities, is still pending.
Conclusion: The term ICO stands for many different practical applications. The differences are so great that the issue of ICO can not be covered by a general rule. But this is necessary to protect the money and interests of people who do not have the knowledge to do it themselves.
Your JP