Internet Capital Markets (ICM) is the latest buzzy trend in DeFi.
Leading ICM platform Believe lets anyone launch their idea as a token.
It is not without critics.
A new fundraising model gaining traction on the Solana blockchain has generated over $2.8 billion in trading volume since its launch in late April.
The platform, Believe, is at the centre of what some are calling “Internet Capital Markets”: a mechanism allowing users to create tokens tied to ideas, applications or internet memes with minimal effort — different from the popular memecoin launchpad platform pump.fun in that Believe focuses on the success of the creator.
While proponents present Believe as a promising, decentralised, market-driven approach to early-stage fundraising, critics warn it may be little more than yet another streamlined system for memecoin launches.
Believe, created by Australian entrepreneur Ben Pasternak, went live on April 27. It enables anyone to create and issue a token simply by sending a tweet to the platform’s official account. That has fuelled memecoin launches — but also a few projects with more serious ambition.
The platform’s native token, “Launch Coin on Believe”, surged from a minuscule market value to more than $250 million within days of launch. The combined market cap of all ICM tokens, excluding Launchcoin, is now over $200 million.
The model has drawn comparisons to previous cycles in crypto fundraising, such as the initial coin offering boom of 2017. Some investors and analysts argue that ICM presents a more accessible and efficient way for software developers and entrepreneurs to secure funding, with tokens acting as early-stage equity proxies.
Crypto founder Hitesh Malviya described Believe as “a launchpad for internet apps, where builders can launch ideas, and you could speculate on their ideas by buying a token.”
While this idea has quickly gained traction in DeFi circles, it is not without its critics.
Some have expressed their concern that there is no notable distinction between Believe and other launchpad projects, which have been heavily criticised for their value extraction and propagation of pump-and-dump tokens.
Offering its services to those who lost money on Believe and LaunchCoin investments, Burwick Law, a law firm specialised in crypto, said the industry is “co-opted by sophisticated actors scamming retail buyers.”
“So-called ‘Internet capital markets’ promise frictionless token launches, yet many offerings arrive with minimal disclosures and little regard for consumer protection,” Burwick Law said Monday on X.
“On platforms like Believe, anyone can spin up a coin in seconds and market it as ‘utility’ or ‘ownership’ without real transparency about who controls liquidity, fees, or treasury wallets. Retail buyers rush in; early holders rush out.”
Despite the controversy, the trend appears to be gaining momentum, with competing platforms beginning to explore similar features.
Memecoin launchpad Pump.fun’s co-founder has hinted at bringing a similar service to their platform. “CTO feature for creator revenue sharing coming soon,” co-founder Alon said.
As the competition intensifies, Believe founder Pasternak unveiled on Tuesday a demo of his upcoming Believe API, which makes for an easier connection between the product and its token.
