I have not posted here before, so maybe no one will reply, but I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why China's decision to ban ICO's had such a huge impact on the value of cryptocurrency in general. Seems unrelated in a sense...I am a huge believer in what bitcoin can offer...are ICO's undermining that effort?
You're correct in that it is unrelated (or at least only indirectly related). Crowdfunding and offering securities has nothing inherently to do with cryptocurrency.
Here's the thing: the ICO "bubble" has been front-and-center this year. People need to buy ETH (and in some cases BTC) in order to participate in ICOs. Furthermore, much of the funds raised are then held in cryptocurrencies rather than fiat currencies, which helps to drive the price of BTC and ETH upwards.
So, from a fundamental perspective, if you believe that ICO investment was driving BTC and ETH investment, then this throws a wrench into that process.