Chinese ICOs Move to the Shadows

 China’s blanket ban on initial coin  offerings may have made it illegal for startups to hold initial coin  offerings (ICOs) and for investors to contribute to them, but it has not  quashed excitement among investors for crypto token investments.  Chinese ICOs continue to operate, but now they do so from the shadows. ICO investing seminars hosted in  mainland China used to attract hundreds of investors. Concerned — at  least purportedly — that the nascent funding model was being exploited  to commit fraud, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) declared the practice illegal  and ordered the cessation of all Chinese ICOs. The PBoC also required  startups who had previously completed ICOs to return all funds to  contributors. Not long after, domestic bitcoin exchanges began  “voluntarily” shutting down, citing the PBoC guidance on ICOs. But, as the Wall Street Journal  reports, ICO investing seminars have not ceased on the mainland. They  continue to operate in secret and target wealthy investors willing to  meet investment minimums as high as $100,000. It’s impossible to measure  the extent of these schemes, but anecdotal evidence suggests they  remain quite common.