It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that cryptocurrency investors were all positioning themselves to be millionaires. The Bitcoin bull run of late 2017 became legendary. Just one short year ago Bitcoin seemed headed for $20,000 and beyond. Then the bottom fell out. Bitcoin and Ethereum started to decline in early 2018 and never stopped. As the turbulent year of 2018 comes to an end the market is still in a tumble with no bottom in sight. Why? This is the question crypto investors have been trying to answer. No one can explain the massive sell-off. The answer may be hiding in the large number of ICOs that were very popular in 2017. An ICO, or Initial Coin Offering, is an effort by the developers of new cryptocurrencies to raise money for the launch of their token. They sell the token to investors at a price that is less than what they expect the token to trade for when it hits the market. Investors must use Bitcoin or Etheteum to buy ICO shares. Some believe that the large trading volumes of Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2017 could be attributed to those buying the tokens so they could invest in ICOs. After the tokens were transferred, the developers of the new tokens sold off the Bitcoin they received for funding. In 2018 ICOs have come under much greater scrutiny. There are fewer of these projects to drive Bitcoin purchases. It is becoming much harder for developers to crowdfund an ICO due to pressure from governments for regulations. No one can say with certainty why the crypto market has crashed. All anyone knows is that the final days of 2018 are much different than those of last year. Perhaps 2019 will provide a dramatic turn in a positive direction, allowing Bitcoin to finally pass $20,000.