It is simple yet complex at the same time. As of right now, the crypto economy is a highly unregulated sector with little to no guidance besides a few regulatory bodies around the world that have issue statements regarding the legalities surrounding crypto.
 In the U.S, the IRS is one such organization that has issued a small relative amount of guidance for cryptocurrencies regarding taxes.
  The SEC is another regulatory body that has also issued relatively small amounts of guidance. However they are the main culprit behind the current state of ICO and IEO's. Most of the tokens and coins issued durring these fundraisers raise red flags of possibly being considered securities. Many startups are effected, and many crackdowns have taken place. This is what has stifled the ICO/IEO progress.
   The cryptocurrency sector is a wild west that operates within in many gray areas of the law, due to it being a new sector within finance. Some of the old laws do and don't apply to cryptocurrencys.
  It's simple yet complicated to explain. Hopefully the crypto sector and the governments across the world can meet at a middle point somewhere so innovation isn't stifled completely. These things take time of course.
 Just my two cents!