An Initial Coin Offering or Initial Token Offering (ITO) is a type of project or startup financing that is conducted with the help of issuing coins (or tokens). Tokens are purchased by participants (investors) in return for an eligible payment instrument (e.g. fiat currency) or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. The value of those tokens depends on the project viability and can grow far higher later. In terms of technical framework, ICOs are associated with Blockchain and smart contracts.