The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has stopped promoters of initial coin offerings and funds that invest in crypto-assets from raising money from retail investors.

In a toughening of its stance on risky investments, the regulator has taken a series of actions to stop several proposed initial coin offerings (ICO), or token-generation events, that were pitched at retail investors.

ASIC has previously warned that most ICOs are unregulated, and while there are genuine businesses using this structure, many have turned out to be scams.

There is a certainly a growing army of crypto-enthusiasts - mostly young and tech-savvy who swear they have made a lot of money.

But experienced investment professionals have pointed out that just as "currency" is a misnomer that gives crypto "tokens" a gravitas they are yet to earn, so is the term "initial coin offering", which is not analogous to "initial public offerings" - the listing of a company on the sharemarket.