Initial coin offerings (ICO) are the new ostrich farming.

If your investment memory doesn’t stretch back to the 1990s when people were going to make an absolute motza raising flightless African birds for meat and feathers, paying up to $40,000 an egg, then it’s worth noting nearly half of ICOs sold in 2017 had already fallen over before March this year.

Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke has come under fire for endorsing an Australian ICO. Credit:AAP

Crowdfunding your business using a cryptocurrency might be all the rage right now, but the corporate regulator, ASIC, raised concerns and earlier this year, introduced a range of measures to protect investors, focusing on the misleading or deceptive conduct risks. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also got involved and the scrutiny sent quite a few ICO plans back to the drawing board.

Earlier this week, former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke went into bat for an upcoming ICO by Brisbane-based crypto trading exchange looking to raise up to $50 million.