Must-See for Beginners: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Top 10 Launchpads, How Retail Investors Can Participate Without Getting Buried?

CN
2 hours ago

Original Author: Biteye Core Contributor Viee

Original Editor: Biteye Core Contributor Denise

From Meme to AI Agent, the exploration of Launchpad linked to traditional equity is also underway.

We selected 10 representative platforms, dissected their unique mechanisms, and discussed how retail investors can seize opportunities while avoiding pitfalls.

1. Permissionless Platforms

1. Heaven

Mechanism: Heaven is a newly emerging AMM+Launchpad platform that integrates issuance and trading, allowing projects to avoid migrating to external DEXs. All transaction fees are retained on the platform for the repurchase and destruction of $LIGHT, allowing holders to directly share in the dividends. In contrast, while Pump.fun is profitable, it lacks this feedback mechanism.

Performance: After the launch of $LIGHT, it rose continuously for a week, with a market cap exceeding $100 million. The ongoing repurchase and destruction mechanism significantly boosted market confidence.

2. Zora

Mechanism: Zora is a social + creator economy protocol on the Base chain, where the core gameplay is that posting content equals launching projects. When you post a text or image, it automatically launches assets.

Performance: $ZORA saw a tenfold increase over 20 consecutive days, and in April this year, the official Coinbase Base chain account tweeted "Base is for everyone," which led to automatic asset minting. Many thought it was official, resulting in a rush that inflated the market cap to $17 million, which quickly fell back by 90%.

3. Believe

Mechanism: Believe was formerly known as Clout, initially focusing on "celebrity circles," and later shifted to social assetization, popularizing the ICM narrative. Users only need to tweet with @launchcoin on Twitter to automatically generate projects. Once the market cap exceeds $100,000, it will automatically list on trading platforms like Meteora.

Performance: $LAUNCHCOIN surged 50 times in just three days, reaching a market cap of $300 million. The previous name $PASTERNAK nearly went to zero, but after rebranding, it surged from $1 million to $22 million within 24 hours. Many projects on the platform have also provided retail investors with opportunities exceeding tenfold.

4. Pump.fun

Mechanism: Pump.fun is considered the pioneer of on-chain asset issuance, directly exploding the Meme gameplay. By uploading a name, logo, and description, users can automatically generate contracts and initial liquidity pools. The pricing uses a joint curve model, where the more people buy, the higher the price. When the market cap reaches a specified threshold, the smart contract automatically migrates liquidity to external DEXs, seamlessly connecting to a larger market.

Performance: As the leading permissionless platform, numerous well-known Meme projects have emerged from Pump.fun, which need not be elaborated further.

5. Bonk.fun

Mechanism: Launched by the BONK community in April 2025, the gameplay is similar to Pump.fun but emphasizes community dividends. A portion of transaction fees is returned to BONK holders and ecosystem builders, strengthening community incentives.

Performance: The viral cat $HOSICO (peak market cap of $60 million, 6x increase), $USELESS (peak market cap of nearly $300 million, over 10x increase). Overall, projects supported by the community are more likely to break through.

6. Virtuals

Mechanism: Virtuals focuses on the AI Agent track, requiring users to lock $VIRTUAL to create Agents and build pools. Once the joint curve threshold is reached, they can "graduate" and generate liquidity pools paired with $VIRTUAL.

Performance: After the initial hype faded, Genesis Launch reignited the market, with $VIRTUAL rebounding 150% in a week, and the ecosystem following suit. The new project $BasisOS reached a market cap of $5.5 million within 12 days, with a peak increase of 40 times.

2. Permissioned Platforms

Unlike "no-threshold" platforms, these Launchpads strictly filter projects, prioritizing quality.

1. Echo

Mechanism: Echo can be understood as an "on-chain angel investment alliance." The gameplay involves a lead investor initiating an investment group, sharing project opportunities with the group, and everyone co-investing, with the lead investor taking a share of the dividends. Echo requires users to undergo KYC verification through email, Twitter accounts, etc., making it more of a small circle.

Performance: Echo has facilitated financing for several popular projects, such as Ethena, Morph, Usual, Hyperlane, etc. After private placements, the projects have developed relatively steadily.

2. Buidlpad

Mechanism: Buidlpad is a public fundraising platform launched by former Binance executive Erick Zhang at the end of 2024. Unlike Echo's small circle private placements, Buidlpad strictly requires KYC but is more aimed at the public. In January this year, it launched its first project—Solayer's LAYER public offering.

Performance: Solayer oversubscribed by 5 times, with a TGE increase of 240% on the same day; Sahara oversubscribed by 8 times, also increasing by 120% on TGE day. Next, @Lombard_Finance will also start community round pre-sales on Buidlpad.

3. Kaito

Mechanism: In July, the Kaito team announced the launch of Capital Launchpad, similar to Echo's on-chain angel investment platform, but the allocation method is based on on-chain holdings, social reputation, and other indicators rather than speed.

Performance: The first project Espresso has a valuation of $400 million. The second project Theoriq has a valuation of $75 million.

4. Ventuals

Mechanism: Ventuals allows ordinary users to participate in Pre-IPO, but instead of issuing real stocks, it issues perpetual synthetic assets that track company valuations. It is based on Hyperliquid's HIP-3 standard, turning equity in unlisted companies into on-chain derivatives, trading like "shadow stocks." In contrast, PreStocks and Jarsy are 1:1 linked to real stocks, corresponding to actual shares, making them closer to traditional securities models.

Performance: As of August 20, Ventuals projects have seen 24-hour increases ranging from 5% to 30%.

3. Launchpad Moat: Competing on Fairness, Thresholds, or Ecosystem?

From the previous cases, it can be seen that Launchpad platforms are almost all "one generation version, one generation god," relying on two points: creating differentiated assets and retaining traffic on the platform. On this basis, several dimensions are particularly critical:

1. Fairness: Heaven binds user and platform interests through repurchase and destruction; conversely, if controlled by bots and insider trading, the retail experience will collapse.

2. Threshold: Echo's invitation system creates small circle barriers, while Believe leverages social network effects to attract users, making these difficult to replicate.

3. Project Resources: Platforms that can continuously attract good projects will form a "stronger strong" dynamic.

4. Model Innovation: Heaven's integration, Zora's content focus, and Believe's social triggers all represent first-mover advantages.

4. Retail Investor Strategy: How to Seize Launchpad Opportunities Without Getting Buried?

1. First Look at Preferences: If you enjoy speculation, you can play on permissionless platforms, where small investments may yield good returns; if you want stability, choose permissioned platforms, where project quality is more assured.

2. Control Position Size: Avoid going all in; high-risk positions should ideally not exceed 10%-20% of total funds.

3. Follow Market Rhythm: Meme, AI, Heaven, and Zora are all rotating hotspots; when a platform suddenly becomes popular, there is often a short-term opportunity.

⚠️ Risk Warning: For reference only, not investment advice.

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