ICM (Internet Capital Market): A New Wave of Fundraising in Web3

As Web3 continues to reshape the foundations of modern finance, a new concept is rapidly gaining traction — Internet Capital Market (ICM). This is a decentralized fundraising model that allows anyone to launch a token and rally support from the community, all with just a single tweet.

1. Internet Capital Market – Revolutionizing Fundraising in the Web3 Era

ICM, short for Internet Capital Market, represents a highly democratized fundraising mechanism within the Web3 ecosystem. Instead of relying on venture capital or traditional financial institutions, developers and individuals can issue tokens directly via social media platforms (most commonly X/Twitter) to raise capital for future products or ideas.

Tokenizing an idea has become incredibly simple — just a few clicks. This accessibility broadens investment opportunities, enabling communities to support early-stage concepts based on trust and emotion, rather than traditional metrics like financials or tech readiness. However, this simplicity also introduces risks, including high price volatility, speculation, and scams.

ICM sits at the intersection of SocialFi and DeFi, leveraging community strength while requiring participants to understand the underlying mechanics to mitigate risk.

2. The Origins of ICM: From Vision to Reality

ICM gained significant attention around mid-2025, when Believe.app, a decentralized token-launch platform, went live. Within just a few months, over 28,000 tokens were created on the platform, generating $3.4 billion in trading volume and exceeding $200 million in total ecosystem market cap.

Yet, the idea of the Internet Capital Market wasn’t born overnight. Lily Liu, President of the Solana Foundation, had previously envisioned a “native Nasdaq for the internet” — a place where any idea could reach global investors without needing permission or gatekeepers.

From the ICO boom in 2017, to the IEO/Launchpad phase in 2019–2021, then the Fair Launch trend in 2020 and the meme coin explosion in 2023, ICM emerges as the next evolution. It preserves Web3’s transparency and community energy, while tying tokens to more tangible value than just meme status.

3. How ICM Works: One Tweet, One Token

The token creation process under ICM is streamlined as follows:

Post a tweet in a predefined format, for example: “$TICKER + Token Name + @LaunchCoin”.

A bot from Believe.app automatically deploys a smart contract on the Solana blockchain, using a bonding curve pricing model — prices increase as more people buy.

Initial trades have high transaction fees to deter bots, but these fees gradually decrease as the token’s market cap approaches $100,000.

Upon reaching that cap, the token is moved into a public liquidity pool on Meteora, making it tradable like any other crypto asset.

Notably, 50% of all trading fees go to the project creator — serving as an incentive to build real products. These rewards are vested over time to discourage quick cash-outs or “rug pulls.”

While anyone can launch a token, serious projects are encouraged to contact the Believe team in advance for support and community credibility.

4. A New Opportunity for Communities and Solo Builders

ICM helps remove barriers to capital, especially for solo founders or small teams who can’t access traditional VC funding. With just a small amount of crypto and an engaged audience on X, they can turn ideas into real fundraising campaigns.

The community becomes more than just investors — they act as early backers, marketers, meme propagators, and supporters from day one.

Some ICM tokens have already shown explosive growth: LAUNCHCOIN surged 20x within weeks, and BUDDY jumped over 1,100% in just 24 hours.

5. Risks You Can’t Ignore

On the flip side, the ease of launching tokens also opens the door to bad actors. With no KYC or vetting, scammers can easily create fake tokens, generate hype on social media, and then exit with profits (a classic rug pull).

ICM token prices are highly sentiment-driven — one viral tweet can cause prices to spike, but interest can fade just as fast, sending prices crashing by 50–90% in hours.

Example: The token Noodle dropped over 50% just 24 hours after launch.

6. Conclusion: A Golden Opportunity — But Tread Carefully

Internet Capital Market offers a radically new approach to raising funds in the Web3 space — fast, open, and borderless. But like past waves such as ICOs or meme coins, it carries the risk of becoming a bubble if left unchecked.

The key lies in distinguishing legitimate projects from the noise. Community awareness and due diligence are essential. If ICM can evolve past its chaotic early phase, it could give rise to the next generation of sustainable, community-driven Web3 unicorns.