ICO is different from crowdfunding or IPO.
Crowdfunding or IPOs are regulated by most countries which impose restrictions on who is allowed to fund or how much they are allowed to contribute.
ICO is unregulated. It was born to bypass the regulations. People can invest as much as they want. Everyone can raise money by issuing cryptocurrency. There is no need to have developed products. The only you need is ideas. And you can raise more money than Crowdfunding. Investors often dont have any right to the company. So there is no protection. It is often considered as a crowdsales (their products are coins. So for tax purpose, they will be taxed, proceeds from IPO are not taxed).