What's the fuzz all about? are ICO's/STO's any different?

[UnruffledST]

When ICOs first came to be, the community surrounding it turned a blind eye to security regulations that where currently set in place, thinking they would be able to bypass such laws. After regulations came knocking on the doors of such ICOs a "new" wave of collecting funds started to appear late of 2018 known as STO's, which promises to provide a more secure way of raising funds while minimizing the risk of investors.

Are STO's all they are set out to be?
The answer you will find is no, through all the hype around STO's one has to be reminded that both a STO and ICO are completely the same.
To gain a better understanding you will have to ask yourself the following questions.

1. What are Securities?
In most countries around the world you will come to find that securities are tradable financial assets.

2.What are the regulations for securities?
Each country has different regulations set in place, some have strict regulations set in place from KYC to the restriction of only wealthy investors being able to trade financial assets.
On the other hand there are just some countries who simply do not care to have regulations set in place.

After having obtained the answer of these two questions one can come to the conclusion that both an ICO/STO are to be considered a security dependent on the country in which the project is established in.
Just because a project claims to be a STO does not mean that you can safely invest in it.

So here comes the third question to be asked.

3. Is there protection against fraud in the country in which the project is established in?

Some investors may prefer to invest in projects in which are established in a country with minor security regulations, if so one must be aware of any laws against consumer fraud. Are you as a investor able to hold the project responsible in the case of which they decide to simply run of with your money?
You better make sure there is, an example being St Kitts and Nevis in which there are minor security laws but still enforcement set in place against consumer fraud.

Conclusion
When considering to invest in a STO make sure to inform yourself on current security regulations in the country in which it is established in as not all countries have well established security laws and for those that do most do not allow common folks to invest in such security offerings such as the U.S. On top of being informed of security regulations in such country make sure that there are laws in place that have consumer fraud enforcement set in place to protect your investment in the case of any wrong doing.

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

Update:

It seems as even though both a ICO and a STO are both securities it seems as one is stricter than the other, STO's are to be traded on a ATS or through a broker only thus not having a cryptocurrency like function as it is not free to trade.

Read more below.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5114978.0

[mrdeposit]

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

Both are not the same. The STO is the more regulated type of the ICO and the more compressed type to confront the scam.
https://101blockchains.com/sto-vs-ico-the-difference/

[MakeMoneyBtc]

STO's are the regulated version of ICO's and this means they have a higher security. From what I have read, not every project can register as a STO and they first have to be accepted by the system. So, only projects that looks legitimate and serious când become a STO, meaning not everyone can simply create a coin and launch it through an ICO and then run with the money invested by people

[talkbitcoin]

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

Both are not the same. The STO is the more regulated type of the ICO and the more compressed type to confront the scam.
https://101blockchains.com/sto-vs-ico-the-difference/

they may not be technically the same but they are practically different. and in practice and reality is the only thing that matters.
basically STO is the alteration of ICO because ICO failed and many people (read newbies) thought they failed because they weren't regulated so the "fake" regulations with KYC (which ended up stealing their personal information) were introduced and that eventually turned into new scams called STO.

[taratorly]

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

I am thinking the same thing. I think ICO words has used badly. And market needs a new method. But STO built on old ways named ICO. I don't think there is a different between ICO&STO. New and cool words only.

[disconnectme]

I do like your conclusion, the most important thing here is the protection of the investors, this is what we missed in the ICO rally, alot of people got burnt and left the space dejected, I personally do not have issue with ICOs but for these developers not to want to be responsible for the money collected from people is the main issue I have, after collecting funds they stopped asking questions from people

[bartolo]

At this moment, the word STO is, in essence, a marketing term more than anything else. There are going to be many projects that will use the word STO just to appear more legitimate or to avoid using the word ICO.

[aioc]

I read about Bolton coin and Desico both claimed an STO project but looked at them many scam accusations are being made, they are both scam to me because they are trying to fool their investors by changing rules everytime.

[UnruffledST]

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

Both are not the same. The STO is the more regulated type of the ICO and the more compressed type to confront the scam.
https://101blockchains.com/sto-vs-ico-the-difference/

STO's and ICO's are both the same the type of regulation is has depends on the country.

The only real difference are Non-Utility, Hybrid, or Utility Tokens/Coins. In which Non-Utility and Hybrids both having to be regulated depending on the country some try to say they are a utility token when they are really a hybrid and again still are securities depending on the country.

a "STO" can launch in a country with minor regulations as again it all depends on the country. Don't get caught in the hype.

I do like your conclusion, the most important thing here is the protection of the investors, this is what we missed in the ICO rally, alot of people got burnt and left the space dejected, I personally do not have issue with ICOs but for these developers not to want to be responsible for the money collected from people is the main issue I have, after collecting funds they stopped asking questions from people

Yea that's the most important factor checking where the company is incorporated and wether they have consumer fraud protection in place in such events.

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

I am thinking the same thing. I think ICO words has used badly. And market needs a new method. But STO built on old ways named ICO. I don't think there is a different between ICO&STO. New and cool words only.

I read about Bolton coin and Desico both claimed an STO project but looked at them many scam accusations are being made, they are both scam to me because they are trying to fool their investors by changing rules everytime.

Yeah it's just a new word people will still get scammed if they don't do the proper research on the projects incorporation. It's kind of foolish that the cryptocommunity is actually falling for this again.

[gensol]

STOs are trying to give people hope to keep investing in cryptocurrencies. In reality they collect people's money there's no guarantee there will be returns on the money collected.

[UnruffledST]

STOs are trying to give people hope to keep investing in cryptocurrencies. In reality they collect people's money there's no guarantee there will be returns on the money collected.

Yeah its false hope just changing a name won't help, the community has done this various of times, it is about actually educating the community and this isn't achieved through a simple name change.

[fosco333]

Well, actually ICO and STO are different. It is about the function of the token you will get.
In ICO, most of them are offering utility tokens so it can be used in their products or platforms.
But in STO, they offer security tokens, you don't need to use it to earn incomes, just hold it in your wallet.

[UnruffledST]

Well, actually ICO and STO are different. It is about the function of the token you will get.
In ICO, most of them are offering utility tokens so it can be used in their products or platforms.
But in STO, they offer security tokens, you don't need to use it to earn incomes, just hold it in your wallet.

  they really are not, a ICO does not factor itself with utility tokens, in all actually it is extremely rare to see a ICO in which is a pure utility token, if so SEC would not be calling most ICOs securities.

[Red-Apple]

there is no regulations and in 90% of the world if you raise funds like this without an actual business or company or anything like that then you would be doing something illegal and some countries have even explicitly announced that ICOs are illegal and that also covers STOs or anything new name that they come up with.

[UnruffledST]

there is no regulations and in 90% of the world if you raise funds like this without an actual business or company or anything like that then you would be doing something illegal and some countries have even explicitly announced that ICOs are illegal and that also covers STOs or anything new name that they come up with.

There are regulations as ICOs fall under securities, 90% of the world ICOs aren't allowed? all you have to do is incorporate a business. where did you get your information from?

[redsun114]

They are almost same thing because they are carried out in the same way, the only difference I know between ICO and STOs is that STO is more regulated than ICOs because the SEC has provide a law guiding how STOs will be carried out and controlled, why in the case of ICOs, there is no body controlling it so it's totally based upon investment at your own risk bases. STO is more saver to participate in than ICOs.

[UnruffledST]

They are almost same thing because they are carried out in the same way, the only difference I know between ICO and STOs is that STO is more regulated than ICOs because the SEC has provide a law guiding how STOs will be carried out and controlled, why in the case of ICOs, there is no body controlling it so it's totally based upon investment at your own risk bases. STO is more saver to participate in than ICOs.

STO's and ICO's are both regulated the same way as they are both Securities if a STO is regulated by SEC thus being an american project than a ICO that is a american project will also be regulated by SEC.

It all depends on the country, please be well informed before investing.

[gensol]

Apart from the regulations and dividend sharing, they're both the same. ICOs and STOs all need your money now about the dividend sharing, what happens when they don't make profit to share dividend? This alone reduces them to normal utility tokens or even worst.

[ceetoo224]

When ICOs first came to be, the community surrounding it turned a blind eye to security regulations that where currently set in place, thinking they would be able to bypass such laws. After regulations came knocking on the doors of such ICOs a "new" wave of collecting funds started to appear late of 2018 known as STO's, which promises to provide a more secure way of raising funds while minimizing the risk of investors.

Are STO's all they are set out to be?
The answer you will find is no, through all the hype around STO's one has to be reminded that both a STO and ICO are completely the same.
To gain a better understanding you will have to ask yourself the following questions.

1. What are Securities?
In most countries around the world you will come to find that securities are tradable financial assets.

2.What are the regulations for securities?
Each country has different regulations set in place, some have strict regulations set in place from KYC to the restriction of only wealthy investors being able to trade financial assets.
On the other hand there are just some countries who simply do not care to have regulations set in place.

After having obtained the answer of these two questions one can come to the conclusion that both an ICO/STO are to be considered a security dependent on the country in which the project is established in.
Just because a project claims to be a STO does not mean that you can safely invest in it.

So here comes the third question to be asked.

3. Is there protection against fraud in the country in which the project is established in?

Some investors may prefer to invest in projects in which are established in a country with minor security regulations, if so one must be aware of any laws against consumer fraud. Are you as a investor able to hold the project responsible in the case of which they decide to simply run of with your money?
You better make sure there is, an example being St Kitts and Nevis in which there are minor security laws but still enforcement set in place against consumer fraud.

Conclusion
When considering to invest in a STO make sure to inform yourself on current security regulations in the country in which it is established in as not all countries have well established security laws and for those that do most do not allow common folks to invest in such security offerings such as the U.S. On top of being informed of security regulations in such country make sure that there are laws in place that have consumer fraud enforcement set in place to protect your investment in the case of any wrong doing.

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

I don't know why people are still in to creating much of a kind of ICO which is STO or some other stuffs like this. What we need is good regulation not new system that will just make things complicated.

[makishart]

STO's and ICO's are the same, do not be fooled just because a project states to be a STO.

Both are not the same. The STO is the more regulated type of the ICO and the more compressed type to confront the scam.
https://101blockchains.com/sto-vs-ico-the-difference/

they may not be technically the same but they are practically different. and in practice and reality is the only thing that matters.
basically STO is the alteration of ICO because ICO failed and many people (read newbies) thought they failed because they weren't regulated so the "fake" regulations with KYC (which ended up stealing their personal information) were introduced and that eventually turned into new scams called STO.

Both are the same, both are still not yet regulated and whatever people will try to shill for STO and the result will be the same of ico. Is this a joke if they can try to avoid legal problems through change its name into the ICO.