From the surging value of cryptocurrencies to the continuing investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, developments in 2017 were hard to forecast. Who could have predicted that an article in The New York Times in October describing sexual misconduct by the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein would unleash a torrent of claims about media stars, members of Congress and the judiciary and even an N.F.L. owner?

With a little trepidation, here are my thoughts on a few topics that should continue to be of interest in 2018:

Initial Coin Offerings

For those of us who remember the dot.com boom, there is a sense of déjà vu with the frenzy over cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which has shot up to well over $10,000 in 2017 from about $1,000, according to Coindesk. Cryptocurrencies may be all the rage, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is focusing on initial coin offerings as a potential avenue for fraud. These I.C.O.s allow companies to raise money by creating their own private digital currency through a form of online crowdfunding, with some offerings raising millions of dollars in just a few days.

A company raising money from the public by selling something whose value depends on the success of its venture sounds like a security. That is why the S.E.C. has ramped up its scrutiny of I.C.O.s to determine whether issuers are skirting the detailed — and expensive — disclosure requirements for dealing with investors.

If anyone is going to rain on the I.C.O. parade, it will be the S.E.C. On Dec. 1, the agency filed an emergency action in the Federal District Court in Brooklyn to stop an offering of PlexCoin, which the complaint said raised more than $15 million by promoting a return of more than 1,000 percent in a month. The S.E.C. has also filed actions for fraud involving other I.C.O.s. We should expect it to continue to crack down on companies using digital currencies to raise money without following the requirements for selling securities.