In recent months, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have re-emerged as a topic of interest within the digital asset ecosystem. At their peak in 2017 and 2018, ICOs collectively raised $20 billion worldwide, creating both rapid growth and lasting challenges for the market. While the model fell out of favor in subsequent years, the concept of direct token-based fundraising never fully disappeared.
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Today, improved infrastructure, stronger regulatory awareness, and more structured participation models have contributed to a renewed focus on ICOs as a viable mechanism for early-stage funding. Launchpads are viewed as an evolution of the ICO model, designed to address some of the inefficiencies and risks that characterised earlier cycles. This renewed model carries implications for several groups. Individuals with discretionary capital now encounter additional avenues to diversify into digital assets. Traders who participated in earlier cycles are evaluating whether today’s ICOs present improved safeguards or merely replicate past risks. Meanwhile, founders and Web3 builders are assessing whether partnerships between launchpads and established institutions can create more reliable pathways to funding and growth.
Within this context, the Legion crypto launchpad has emerged as a platform seeking to refine how ICOs are conducted. Backed by strategic industry collaborations, it positions itself as a potential bridge between investor demand for access and project need for structured fundraising. The purpose of this article is to examine the resurgence of ICOs, assess the role of launchpads in shaping this trend, and provide an informed overview of Legion’s positioning within the current environment.
Why are ICOS Making a Comeback?
The return of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is not accidental but is driven by several clear developments within the digital asset ecosystem. First, regulatory clarity has improved significantly across major jurisdictions, reducing the uncertainty that once discouraged both investors and project teams. For instance, institutional participation in ICOs in the EU has nearly doubled, with around 42% of investors in 2025 coming from institutional backgrounds, compared to earlier years. In Europe, the introduction of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework has been particularly influential, with 68% of new ICOs now based in MiCA-compliant jurisdictions, up from 50% in 2024. This trend shows the growing importance of legal frameworks in shaping more sustainable fundraising practices.
Alongside regulatory progress, the size of the ICO market has expanded. In 2025, the global ICO market was valued at approximately USD 38.1 billion, representing an annual growth rate of 21.7%. The number of launches has also grown, with over 1,096 ICOs recorded globally, reflecting a strong resurgence compared with the quieter years that followed the 2017–2018 boom. This indicates that investor appetite for token sales remains robust when supported by credible structures.
The search for early-stage exposure continues to influence the growth of ICOs. Participants with available capital often seek projects at their inception, aiming to benefit from future appreciation. Compared with the earlier cycles, ICOs hosted on vetted platforms present these opportunities in a more organised and transparent format.
ICOs also remain attractive because of their global accessibility. Unlike traditional fundraising, which often requires accredited investors or high entry thresholds, ICOs allow participation from individuals across different regions, subject to local regulations. This inclusivity not only widens the investor base but also aligns with broader trends in Web3, where token utility, governance rights, and staking opportunities are valued alongside financial gains.
What Makes ICOs More Trustworthy Now Than Before?
Security audits of smart contracts are now standard practice, with audited projects performing substantially better than non-audited counterparts. Many projects provide minimum viable products or prototypes before raising funds, reducing the risk of backing ideas that have no technical foundation. Clear tokenomics and detailed roadmaps are becoming the norm, offering investors more reliable information to evaluate potential returns.
Launchpads now play a critical role in sustaining this progress. By vetting projects, enforcing compliance with KYC and AML requirements, and setting higher listing standards, they act as intermediaries that protect both investors and builders. ICOs that incorporate compliance measures such as Know Your Customer (KYC) verification demonstrate higher success rates, about 38% compared to 26% for projects without such measures. Sector-specific performance has also strengthened, with decentralised finance (DeFi) projects accounting for nearly 39% of total ICO funds raised in 2025. These trends show that when compliance and utility are prioritised, ICOs can produce more consistent outcomes.
What is Legion Crypto Launchpad and How Does It Work?
Legion is an on-chain, merit-based fundraising platform designed to streamline how crypto projects raise capital and how investors access early-stage opportunities. Unlike earlier ICO models, which often lacked clear entry standards, Legion introduces a reputation-based system known as the Legion Score. This score is calculated from multiple data points, including connected social media accounts, wallet activity, GitHub contributions, and other verifiable on-chain and off-chain interactions. The higher a participant’s score, the greater their eligibility for allocation in fundraising rounds, which encourages meaningful and long-term engagement rather than speculative participation.
For projects, Legion offers a structured pathway to capital through both pre-token generation event (pre-TGE) funding and token sales. Before projects are listed, they undergo a vetting process that emphasises compliance with regulatory frameworks, including alignment with EU fundraising requirements. To discourage low-quality participation, such as the use of bots, fake identities, or immediate token flipping, the platform integrates mechanisms like vesting schedules, identity-linked scoring, and stricter entry requirements. This system not only filters participants but also rewards individuals who add value to projects beyond financial contributions, positioning Legion as more than just a transactional marketplace.
Since its launch, Legion has demonstrated measurable traction. In August 2024, the platform raised a seed round of $2 million led by Cyber Fund with backing from Delphi Labs, AllianceDAO, LongHash, and others. It has also facilitated over 10 fundraising rounds within its first year of activity, with a total of $24.60 million raised. These figures show the platform’s growing relevance within the digital fundraising ecosystem and suggest increasing trust from both projects and investors.
In practice, investors begin by creating an account and linking their wallets, social identities, and other credentials to build a verifiable Legion Score. Once established, they can review active fundraising opportunities, apply to participate, and, if accepted, receive allocations based on their score and the project’s criteria. Token distribution often follows structured rules, including vesting or lock-up conditions, to align investor behavior with long-term project success.
How Does Legion Differ from Other ICOs?
- Merit-based Allocation System
Legion operates as a merit-based ICO platform, where user allocations are determined by reputation scores that reflect on-chain activity, engagement, and long-term contributions. - Mobile-First Accessibility
Integrated within the Legion Super App, the launchpad enables users to participate in token offerings directly from mobile devices, enhancing accessibility. - Utility of the LGX Token
The native LGX token is central to launchpad participation, granting whitelist privileges and allocation opportunities to holders and stakers. - Education and Engagement Incentives
Through gamified learning modules and rewards for interaction, Legion promotes informed participation rather than speculative entry. - Safeguards Against Short-Term Exploitation
By linking access to reputation and engagement, Legion reduces risks such as bot participation and short-term dumping, encouraging a more sustainable ecosystem.
How Does Kraken and Legion Partnership Power Token Sales?
The partnership between Kraken and crypto startup Legion brings together the latter’s community-driven allocation system and the former’s established infrastructure for compliance, liquidity, and market access. At the center of this model is the Legion Score, a framework that rewards participants based on their past blockchain activity, contributions, or development efforts. Up to 20% of a token sale is set aside for high-scoring participants, while the rest is opened through first-come, first-served rounds on both Kraken’s Launch platform and Legion. Every project must meet clear disclosure and due diligence requirements under Europe’s MiCA regulations, ensuring transparency throughout the process. Once a sale concludes, Kraken allows faster trading by listing tokens shortly after, creating immediate liquidity and smoother entry into the secondary market. This structure aims to combine fairness with accessibility while keeping regulatory standards in focus.
Conclusion
A key consideration for today’s ICO market is that sustainability is shaped not only by regulation and structure but also by how effectively platforms position long-term incentives between investors and projects.
The Legion crypto launchpad addresses this by integrating merit-based participation and institutional-grade partnerships that reduce information gaps and encourage serious contributions. This provides a framework where capital formation can progress with greater clarity, while creating a pathway for projects to achieve market entry under stronger standards. What this holds is a more balanced environment where early participation has the potential to deliver tangible value without repeating the shortcomings of earlier ICO cycles.
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