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Is there a way to fix no one being able to short these things? The counter party risk and irrational exuberance outlasting ones solvency should be solvable somehow?

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Remember the market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. It is seldom a good idea to short an asset just because you think it is a bubble, unless you're able to call the peak.

True, but even so. Most bubbles see at least a few players stake long bets against them (e.g. housing), usually whoever is rich enough to eat months or years of margin calls.

Letting pessimists enter the market rationalizes things that much faster. For something like BTC, the market is actively pressured to stay irrational because any non-holder who expects prices to drop can't enter - you only play if you're bullish.

the only way to short these ICO's is to not buy them. shorting anything requires borrowing the asset, usually paying interest (as an incentive to the lender), selling them and later buying them back.

the other option is a betting platform where people just take side bets, but counter party risk is substantial and your short is limited by the trade collateral and vice versa for your counterparty taking the opposite bet.

I doubt you'd even find a counterparty to bet against

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