> I don't understand why they would do the coin offering now. The network is inoperable and won't be for quite a while.

This is quite cynical of me, but the first thing that comes to mind is that they could be scared that theres a general CC bubble going on right now and they want to be sure to get some money before it pops. Look at bitcoin prices right now: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/