A dramatic change is occurring in the Web3 fundraising arena as early-stage blockchain projects ditch traditional venture capital routes in favor of institutional crypto crowdfunding. Driving this shift are platforms like CoinList, Republic, Bitget LaunchX, Cobie’s Echo, Kaito Capital Launchpad, and the contributor-focused SeedList. These launchpads are not only distributing tokens, they’re accelerating adoption, onboarding new users, and giving projects a global brand footprint before they even hit exchanges.
This evolution is gaining momentum due to a combination of oversubscribed launches, improved participant frameworks, and growing dissatisfaction with how VCs monopolize access to early deals. In the next 12 months, more than 100 public token sales are projected across these platforms, suggesting that Web3 founders are now viewing launchpads as their first option, not a backup plan, for going to market and building a user base.
The WalletConnect Launch Set the Tone
One of the most successful examples of this trend was the $10 million WalletConnect WCT token sale, held across CoinList, Bitget LaunchX, and Echo:
- Bitget LaunchX filled its $4 million allocation in under two hours, receiving pledges totaling $170 million from 40,000 participants.
- CoinList brought in more than 18,000 contributors from over 100 nations.
- Echo’s private round of $500,000 sold out in a mere 11 seconds, reflecting the strength of its infrastructure and pre-existing community.
CoinList, born from AngelList’s efforts to adapt to Web3, has since followed up with launches like Obol, Bitlayer, and DoubleZero. The platform operates on a karma-based scoring system that emphasizes user loyalty and engagement. Its past success includes major launches like Solana, Flow by Dapper Labs, and Filecoin.
Meanwhile, Republic, backed by Galaxy Digital, has crossed the $120 million mark in total raised through its crypto token launchpad. Its Note holders continue receiving USDC dividend payouts. Echo, led by Jordan Fish (also known as Cobie), introduced a modular sale system called Sonar, designed to let smaller teams conduct compliant, independent token sales with minimal overhead.
Kaito Capital Launchpad, the brainchild of ex-Citadel executive Yu Hu, adds another dimension. It blends AI-powered contributor analytics, Base-chain native capabilities, and a social reputation allocation model. The launch of its first project, Espresso, included controlled allocation caps, vesting phases, and KAITO token fee redistribution.
SeedList Brings a Contributor-First Model
Amid the rise of launchpads, SeedList is gaining attention for taking a bold stance, cutting VCs out of the equation and focusing instead on KOLs and community contributors. Based in Singapore, the platform reallocates access to early-stage token sales based on participation, technical contribution, and real engagement.
Using a proprietary AI merit-based engine, SeedList scores applicants not by how much they can stake or invest, but by how they contribute to the ecosystem. It especially prioritizes underrepresented jurisdictions outside the United States, where many communities are building but lack access to allocation-heavy funding platforms.
“We’re evolving the model pioneered by platforms like CoinList, but reengineering it for a more decentralized future,” said Rosa Pagani, SeedList’s co-founder, in a closed-door briefing. “Rather than letting capital decide who gets in, we use data to measure engagement, support, and influence. That’s what earns access.”
SeedList also avoids legacy hurdles by not requiring fiat or custodial accounts, enabling crypto-native participation in token offerings. With partnerships across KOL syndicates and a growing list of strategic partners, SeedList gives early access to retail contributors who have traditionally been excluded.
Pagani brings strong credibility to the project. She also serves as CEO of WhiteBIT Australia, a division of WhiteBIT Global, the leading crypto exchange in Europe with more than 8 million users and a reported $18 billion in trading volume. Another prominent backer is Brijesh Patel, previously a partner at Pronomos Capital, a venture firm focused on decentralized cities and backed by Marc Andreessen, Balaji Sreenivasan, the Winklevoss twins, and Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList.
Well-known Solana ecosystem advisor CryptoSheldon summed up the dynamic well: “In a utopian world, crypto projects will have their choice of large-scale crypto launchpads, CoinList if they are U.S.-based or want VC involvement, SeedList if they are a L1 or decentralized protocol outside the U.S. that needs to onboard 500K+ users via KOLs in order to create a global retail brand, or Kaito or Echo for something in between those 2 extremes.”
Launchpads Are Defining the New Crypto Capital Stack
The border between traditional venture firms, centralized exchanges, and token launch platforms is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Republic, CoinList, Kaito, Echo, and SeedList are all integrating compliance features, analytics dashboards, and liquidity mechanisms directly into the capital formation process. This means projects don’t just raise, they activate communities and launch with stronger foundations.
Across crypto and traditional finance, builders and influencers are quickly entering the launchpad space. Jordan Fish created Echo. Yu Hu developed Kaito, & CryptoSheldon co-founded SeedList.
In the next 12 months, dozens of token offerings are scheduled across SeedList, CoinList, Bitget, and Kaito, spanning sectors such as decentralized infrastructure (DePIN), Layer 2 scaling solutions, and AI-native blockchain protocols. If current trends continue, these platforms won’t just supplement VCs, they’ll completely replace them as the dominant path for Web3 capital raising.
Melissa Williams 
Alex Hamilton