as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
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isn't an initial coin offering (ico) a surefire way to make tons of money?
user
there is no sure thing in investing. everything has a risk component. sure, people talk about these cryptocurrencies like they have nowhere to go but up, but there are massive risks with these. for example, they could be declared illegal, the exchanges could go bankrupt (and some have), the backing companies off the icos could fail, the algorithms behind them could have a fatal flaw with unknown consequences, they can be stolen in unusual ways, everyone could suddenly realize that they have no real value...
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