Launchpad

A launchpad is a service that connects early-stage crypto projects with investors who want to buy tokens before they trade on the open market. Instead of running a sale alone, a project applies to a launchpad, which screens the team, tokenomics, and product, then hosts the sale for its established user base.

Most launchpads use tiered access. Participants typically hold or stake the launchpad's own token to qualify, with larger stakes unlocking bigger allocations. Popular sales often add a whitelist or lottery step, and purchased tokens are usually released on a vesting schedule after the token generation event rather than all at once.

Sale formats vary. An IEO runs on a centralized exchange, as with the platforms operated by Bybit and KuCoin, while an IDO takes place on a decentralized exchange. Fair launches skip private allocations entirely and open the sale to everyone on equal terms. Launchpads themselves range from exchange-run platforms to independent multi-chain services and chain-specific launchpads that only support projects building on one network.

Projects use launchpads because they solve three problems at once: raising funds, building an initial community, and distributing tokens to thousands of holders from day one.

For investors, the risks are real. Vesting cliffs can lock up capital while prices fall, tokens that list with a low circulating float can spike and then crash, and many funded projects never deliver a working product. Access requirements also concentrate exposure in the launchpad's own token, so researching both the platform and each individual token sale remains essential.