All Past ICOs, IEOs & IDOs Rated And Reviewed by CoinLaunch

2022 has been a challenging year for everyone, and the ICO cryptocurrency market is no exception. If in 2021 its growth was driven by risk appetite and free money that had nowhere to spend in a pandemic, in 2022 regulators have tried to fight inflation and raised rates, which has made loans more expensive, and economic instability has forced savers to switch to more predictable assets in terms of profitability.

Market participants call the current period “a crypto winter” and say that this is a typical phenomenon for a cyclical economy: a decline will be followed by a rise again. But experts do not exclude that winter will turn into an “ice age”, and call the year “catastrophic” for the crypto: the bubble inflated by loans, according to them, burst, exposing the “structural flaws of the industry”.

Some other significant moments token offerings experienced in 2022:

• Due to the development of alternative forms of token sales (IEO and IDO), the share of ICOs in the total volume of funds fell from >90% in 2018 to 30% in 2019, after which the decline continued.
• According to the results of the first 10 months of 2022, $323 million was raised through the ICO, which is about 19% of the total volume of token sales.
• In 2022, 524 token sales were held (please, note that one project can conduct a few different token sale rounds).
• 401 of them were organized in the form of IDOs, which confirms our conclusions about the dominant position of this form of fundraising.
• Next comes IEO - in total, 174 projects chose this form of token sale to raise money in 2022.
• The situation with the ICO looks interesting - only 24 projects conducted such a token sale. Since ICOs are closely associated with scams and frauds, nowadays they are out mainly by large projects that inspire trust among potential investors.

• In 2022, there were a few notable ICOs that gained attention from investors and the crypto community. One of the most successful ICOs was Gari Network, which raised >$59 million during its Initial Coin Offering round.
• Another successful ICO of 2022 is called Tribal. $TRIBL ICO was held on Coinlist platform - the project raised almost $22 million during the token sale. The current ROI of the cryptocurrency equals 4.1x, which reflects public interest towards the project.
• In terms of IDOs, XDAO, a tool for creating DAOs, was a standout project, raising $3.39 million. The token’s performance remains positive as at the time of writing - the current project’s ROI equals 11.8x.
• Finally, some of the most successful IEOs of 2022 was WhiteBIT Token, which raised $1.9 million during its IEO round. The token currently showcases an ROI of 2.5x its initial value.

Analysts and journalists consider 2021 a turning point for the crypto world, writes Fortune: “prices for digital currencies set new records, funds invested unprecedented amounts of money in decentralized blockchain projects, services increasingly accepted payments in “crypto”, and for the first time in the history Bitcoin was recognized as a national currency in El Salvador, Central America”.

One of the most notable ICO trends in 2021 was the shift towards more decentralized and regulatory-compliant forms of fundraising, such as Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs). This was partly due to increasing regulatory scrutiny in the industry, and a desire among investors for more transparency, accessibility and community involvement.

Another significant trend in the ICO market in 2021 was the growing importance of community-based fundraising. Platforms like Polkastarter and DAO Maker were increasingly used by blockchain-based projects to raise funds and build a loyal community of supporters.

Moreover, the industry was joined by millions of retail investors who were attracted by the crypto and NFT hype spread via social networks and the media, where one joke on the air can raise and, conversely, collapse the price of a coin.

• The ICO (Initial Coin Offering) market in 2019 experienced a significant decline compared to the previous year. According to a report made by the TUM School of Management, the total amount raised by ICOs in 2019 was >$3 billion, a stark contrast to the $21.5 billion raised in 2018.
• The number of ICOs also decreased significantly in 2019. In total, there were 371 ICOs launched in 2019, compared to 1,132 in 2018. This decline in activity was partly due to regulatory crackdowns, which made it more difficult for startups to launch ICOs.
• Another notable trend in 2019 was the rise of STOs (Security Token Offerings). According to Forbes, the total amount raised by STOs in 2019 was $442 million.

In 2019 the Initial Coin Offering market saw a decline in activity, as compared to its peak in 2017-2018. However, there were still some notable ICOs that caught the attention of the crypto community.

• One of the hottest ICOs of 2019 was Prometeus (PROM), which raised a total $4.85 million. The PROM is the native token of Prometeus Network, used in the buying and selling process of the data exchange via the platform. The Prom token currently showcases an ROI of 3.92x to its initial value.
• Another notable ICO of 2019, The Blockstack (STX), raised approximately $23 million through a Regulation A+ offering approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). At the time of writing, The Blockstack (STX) current ROI equals 1.84x.
• One of the hottest offerings in 2019 was Ocean Protocol (Ocean), which raised $7,2 million in a total. Ocean is an ecosystem for the data economy with a tokenized service layer that securely exposes data, storage, compute, and algorithms for consumption. The current ROI of an OCEAN token equals 1,44x.
• One of the hottest ICOs of 2019 was Ferrum Network (FRM), which raised a total of $1,12 million. The native cryptocurrency of Ferrum Network, the FRM token, can be used for various purposes, including transaction fees, staking, and governance. At the time of writing, Ferrum Network (FRM) current ROI equals 2.11x.

The crypto market experienced remarkable growth in 2023. Bitcoin stood out as a key driver of this momentum, headlining the impulsive growth in Q4, fueled by the anticipation of a spot ETF. Mid-year, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, filed an application with the SEC for the first-ever spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), marking a pivotal moment for the industry. As a result, $BTC delivered a nearly 300% return on investment and closed the year around the $45,000 mark. Solana led the pack among the top 10 altcoins by market cap, outperforming its peers with an impressive gain of 918%.

This remarkable increase in the $SOL value corresponds with a boom in Solana memecoins trading activity on DEXs. A vibrant ecosystem of Solana meme coins encompasses established memes like dogwifhat and Bonk and is a home for a new hyped train of AI agents started with Goatseus Maximus. This trend is far from over, as DefiLlama reported a new ATH in Solana DEX's trading activity, reaching an astonishing $6.884 billion in trading volume on November 12, 2024. For a comprehensive overview of Solana-based memes, check out the dynamic List of Top 50 Solana Meme Coins Ranked by Market Cap, where you'll find the most up-to-date rankings and market performance.

In late 2022, the launch of ChatGPT marked the most significant innovation of the decade, potentially the century. Riding on the wave of hype, existing AI-based projects like Fetch AI saw substantial growth in 2023. This momentum also sparked numerous new projects leveraging the OpenAI API, benefiting from the established narrative.

Airdrops and retrodrops continued to be a significant trend in the cryptocurrency space throughout 2023. This trend gained more traction as Arbitrum held the largest event of the year, distributing nearly $2 billion worth of tokens to users who engaged in transactions on its network. It was followed by the Blur $818 million airdrop campaign, which targeted traders on its NFT marketplace. 

The Celestia Genesis Drop was the most successful airdrop in terms of return on investment (ROI) following token listing. Celestia distributed a substantial 60 million $TIA tokens to eligible users. Despite the high number of tokens distributed, $TIA experienced impressive growth after its listing. Initially trading around $2.50, the price of $TIA surged to a peak of approximately $16. This demonstrates how generous airdrops can positively influence the market perception of a new project.

• The token sales market has shown signs of recovery but remained distant from the heights seen in 2021 & 2022. 
• The strong correlation between $BTC price and Venture Capitals investments gradually faded away starting from 2023. 
• Blockchain service Wormhole ($W) secured $225 million in the largest Funding Round in 2023.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the year was the dominance of IDOs, as the market shifted from ICOs, which are often associated with scams and fraud. IDOs have continued to gain traction as the preferred method for token launches. The most successful IDOs in 2023 were: ChainGPT, Inspect, and Lybra with 42,2x, 47,8x, and 41,6x ATH ROI respectively. Among IEOs, the top 10 most profitable projects were GameSwift and SUI with 54.7x ATH ROI. Binance Launchpad tokens: Open Campus, SPACE ID, and Arkham also delivered 33.5x, 41.3x, and 15.5x ATH ROI respectively.

Centralized exchanges took the lead in the fundraising space, delivering substantial returns for investors. The top performers in terms of ROI were three IEO launchpads: OKX Jumpstart, KuCoin Spotlight, and Binance. Meanwhile, Ethereum and BNB Chain continued to dominate as the most popular blockchains for token sale projects. 

Some of the most anticipated presales took place in 2023. TOP ICOs crypto list: 

• ether.fi: $32.3 million raised in 4 rounds;
• Bondex: $10.5 million raised in 7 rounds;
• Neutron: $10 million raised in 2 rounds;
• Memecoin: $15.87 million raised in 4 rounds;
• CyberConnect: $30.4 million raised in 8 rounds;
• Sei Network: $85 million raised in 6 rounds;
• Pendle: $17.14 million raised in 6 rounds;
• Arkham: $14.5 million raised in 4 rounds;
• Maverick Protocol: $17.46 million raised in 4 rounds;
• Radiant Capital: $12.29 million raised in 3 rounds;
• Open Campus: $5.65 million raised in 5 rounds;
• Space ID: $12.5 million raised in 3 rounds.

In 2024, the cryptocurrency market experienced significant volatility. In the first quarter, there was a strong market rally, mainly due to the approval of US spot Bitcoin ETFs. During this time, $BTC hit a new ATH of $73,098. This led to the total crypto market capitalization reaching a high of $2.9 trillion by mid-March. By April 2, Bitcoin ETFs had accumulated over $55.1 billion in assets under management (AUM), underscoring the massive influx of institutional interest.

The total value locked in layer-1 blockchains doubled, rising from $54.1 billion at the beginning of the year to $108.45 billion by May 28, 2024. In Q1 2024, Ethereum restaking on EigenLayer surged by 36%, with the total restaked ETH reaching 4.3 million. Notably, over half of the restaked ETH (2.28 million ETH) was held in liquid restaking protocols. Ether.Fi emerged as the leading LRT protocol, experiencing a remarkable growth of 2,616% throughout the quarter and securing a 21% market share with 0.91 million ETH by the end of March. 

Bitcoin's highly anticipated fourth halving fell short of expectations. Despite the rise of meme coins, AI, and RWA trends, the total crypto market cap decreased by 14.4% in the second quarter, closing June at the $2.43 trillion mark. Notably, the trading volume on DEXes reached its all-time high at the beginning of June, hitting $106.8 billion. This was possible thanks to the spike in Solana meme coin and Base meme coin trading activity. 

Overall, 2024 is likely to be remembered as the year of meme coins in the crypto landscape, driven largely by a scarcity of compelling narratives. Despite lacking utility, meme coins continue to reshape the market and surpass high float/low cap VC-backed projects. The emergence of pump.fun and SunPump launchpads fueled another rally in meme coins and strengthened the positions of Solana and TRON as leading L1 blockchains. However, the buzz surrounding memes wasn’t enough for bulls to take over the market, as Q3 proved challenging for many projects. 

• A total of $8.9 billion was secured by crypto projects in 2024. 
• Blockchain-focused companies attracted the most investment throughout 2024.
• L1 EVM-compatible blockchain Monad held the largest Funding Round, securing $225 million.

2024 began with a short-term bullish momentum in the fundraising space, with innovative solutions such as Restaking protocols, interoperability layers, and perpetual decentralized exchanges (DEX) being the preferred choice for venture capitalists. Venture capital tends to prioritize early-stage rounds, with the Seed stage leading in funding. In contrast, any other token sale stages receive significantly less funding. 

Newly established restaking protocols caught the attention of Tier-1 funds. For instance, Eigenlayer, the LRT protocol that pioneered this technology, secured a $100 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In Q1 Eigenlayer was the only project to receive this much funding. Other notable Q1 2024 rounds included:  

• io.net $30 million round
• ether.fi $27 million round
• Drift protocol $23.5 round

In Q2 VCs' focus slightly shifted toward infrastructure projects. Only two projects, Farcaster and Berachain, managed to raise over $100 million each, with Farcaster securing $150 million and Berachain securing $100 million. Other Q2 2024 notable rounds included:  

• Babylon $70 million round
• Polymarket $45 million round
• Movement Labs $38 million round

In Q3 Blockchain-AI Convergence, Modular Architecture, and DeFi Capture projects were in the spotlight. Blockchain services completely outshined other sectors securing in total $1.16 billion. Celestia, pioneering a modular blockchain architecture, held a $100 million funding round. Other Q3 2024 notable rounds included: 

• Sentient $85 million round
• Story protocol $80 million round
• Infinex $65.2 million round

In 2024, the crypto fundraising market has demonstrated stability, driven by the industry's adaptability to shifting market dynamics. Despite the absence of significant new business models and moderate bullish sentiment, fundraising activity has remained steady.