Internet Capital Market: New Trend or Just Another Meme Hype?

Internet Capital Market (ICM) is a native encryption alternative to the traditional capital market (TCM), allowing entrepreneurs to raise funds directly from the online community through tokenization, bypassing cumbersome procedures such as venture capital and IPO.

Written by: Mario @IOSG

TL;DR:

The Internet Capital Market (ICM) is a native encryption alternative to the traditional Capital Market (TCM), allowing entrepreneurs to raise funds directly from online communities through tokenization, bypassing cumbersome processes like venture capital and IPOs. Platforms represented by Believe App (formerly Clout) are leading this transformation on the Solana chain, where users can easily issue and invest in projects just by @-ing the platform on X (formerly Twitter).

Despite numerous criticisms, such as lack of regulation, low project thresholds, and the ease of issuing misleading tokens, ICM still possesses strong potential for mass adoption, especially in promoting Web3 to Web2 users through a seamless user experience, fiat payment gateways, and viral storytelling. For long-term development, platforms like Believe need to move beyond short-term speculation, promote founder accountability mechanisms, optimize token economic models, build DAO governance, and achieve real utility, thereby transforming ICM from a Meme craze into a new paradigm of capital formation.

Background of Traditional Capital Markets

In traditional Capital Markets (TCM), entrepreneurs often rely on expensive and time-consuming financing methods, such as IPOs or venture capital. This path itself presents numerous challenges.

From the perspective of the financing party, entrepreneurs need to deal with lengthy application processes, complex legal procedures, and continuously cater to the preferences of investors, which often prevents them from focusing on product development or community building.

From the perspective of investors, early investment opportunities are basically monopolized by large institutions, such as hedge funds and mutual funds. Ordinary investors can hardly get a share and often have to wait until the project valuation skyrockets before entering the market.

This model is not only inefficient and lacks openness, but also leads to a serious misalignment of incentives between creators and supporters. These structural issues reflect the urgent demand in the market for a more open, direct, and participatory financing method, which is the core problem that the Internet Capital Market (ICM) aims to address.

Figure 1: Cost Comparison of Direct Listings

• (Adapted from Lily Liu, TOKEN2049 Dubai 2025) [1] *

Direct listing is a more cost-effective financing method that bypasses the expensive and time-consuming intermediary processes of traditional financing, providing entrepreneurs with a new option. The Internet Capital Market (ICM) is similar to direct listing in many ways but theoretically has more advantages, as entrepreneurs are financing directly through blockchain.

What is ICM

ICM is a new narrative in the encryption industry. It allows entrepreneurs to raise funds for their products directly through the internet, without having to go through the cumbersome processes of the traditional Capital Market. By simply tokenizing their ideas, they can immediately gain support from investors.

Unlike traditional markets, where investors’ shares are usually held in custody by banks or brokers, the ICM model allows investors to hold their own tokens directly through a self-custody wallet, taking full ownership and liquidity of the assets. This approach not only significantly lowers the threshold for ordinary people to participate in investment, but also allows project parties to obtain start-up capital more efficiently.

ICM Ecological Status

It’s important to note that the concept of ICM isn’t just an experimental attempt at a product narrative, it’s very much in line with Solana’s own strategic direction. According to a market memo published by the Solana Foundation on November 27, 2024, [19] the Foundation has put forward a vision of building an “internet-native version of Nasdaq” where anyone with a wallet and an internet connection can participate in the capital markets.

The memorandum paints a picture of a future in which financial assets such as stocks, real estate, and cultural tokens can be freely acquired and traded by anyone, at any time, through a globally shared blockchain ledger, removing many of the barriers and restrictions that exist in traditional finance.

Currently, the leader of the ICM ecosystem is the Believe App on Solana (formerly known as Clout). This platform allows founders to directly publish their tokens by @mentioning an account on X (formerly Twitter). It aims to disrupt the traditional venture capital model by providing a decentralized, community-driven alternative that empowers creators and entrepreneurs.

Figure 2: LaunchCoin token economic model flowchart

• (Adapted from @ManoppoMarco, X, 2025) [2] *

Figure 3: LaunchCoin Price Timeline (with author’s notes),

Screenshot Source: Dexscreener [3]

It all started with Web2 entrepreneur Ben Pasternak, Forbes’ Under 30 list. He released his token $Pasternak [14] through the Clout platform in January of this year, and its market capitalization soared to about $77 million, but due to technical issues — the token could not “graduate” even if the conditions were met — the project eventually collapsed. [15]

In late April, the platform was officially rebranded from Clout to Believe, and its core focus shifted from “personal” to “ideas and projects”, truly moving in the direction of ICM. $Pasternak was phased out, and the platform launched a new core token $launchcoin. The platform’s development quickly gained traction after being retweeted by well-known founders such as Nikita Bier and Solana co-founder Toly. Subsequently, the tokens of several projects, such as $GOON and $NOODLE, were successful on Believe and achieved high market caps, and this virality and user growth pushed the overall market capitalization of the platform to $314 million at one point. [16]

Comparison of Clanker and Believe: Why Believe is More Successful

Clanker is another token issuance platform that also allows users to create their own tokens through social media interactions, primarily by tweeting or using Farcaster (a Web3 Twitter). Although Clanker and Believe seem similar in terms of “issuance methods,” Believe has several distinct advantages in user experience, narrative structure, and growth potential, making it stand out among various platforms.

Ecological Impact

From the chart below, it can be seen that both the trading volume and the number of active traders on the Solana chain far exceed those on the Base chain, providing greater momentum for Believe’s expansion. In addition, gaining support from Alliance DAO, as well as the retweets from Nikita Bier and Toly, further accelerated its growth.

Figure 4: Meme coin trading metrics on the Solana chain

（Source: Cointoshi, Dune Analytics） [4]

Figure 5: Comparison of Daily Issued Token Quantity: Clanker vs Pump Fun

(Source: Clanker Protection Team, Dune Analytics) [5]

User Experience

Figure 6: User Rifqi Saputra (@denyosapone) publishes the issuance information of the token on X via Clanker (2025) [6]

Figure 7: User Pata van Goon (@basedalexandoor) showcases the post issued through Believe (2025) [7]

We can see that issuing on Believe is much simpler - users only need to fill in a token abbreviation and @Believe on X; whereas on Clanker, additional information is required, such as name, icon, etc.

In addition, the user interface of Believe is more intuitive and streamlined. They have also developed a mobile app, which is now available on the App Store, allowing users to purchase token assets directly using their wallet or credit card. In contrast, Clanker currently only has a web version and can only be used to purchase with a wallet, similar to traditional Web3 launch platforms.

Figure 8: Believe application interface, displaying token list and payment methods (2025) [8]

Although Clanker simplifies the “selling” process in token issuance, users still need a certain level of Web3 knowledge when purchasing, such as how to connect a wallet and how to add on the Base blockchain.

In contrast, Believe allows users to issue and purchase tokens without any knowledge of Web3. You can issue directly through Twitter and make purchases using credit cards or Apple Pay. This significantly lowers the participation threshold and attracts a large number of Web2 users into the Web3 world.

For example, Web2 entrepreneur Alex Leiman (who developed the Web3 game noodle.gg based on slither.io) chose to issue his new token $noodle [9] on Believe.

Narrative and Vision: Differences Between ICM and Meme Platforms

Believe is one of the earliest projects to propose the narrative of “Internet Capital Market (ICM)”. It emphasizes the issuance of real ideas and projects to support their development, rather than merely speculating on memes with no actual value. This higher-level vision is more likely to resonate with the community, attracting users who wish to participate in meaningful construction and pursue long-term value.

In contrast, Clanker is more like a meme issuance platform focused on short-term speculation and trading. It lacks a clear narrative direction and does not have a long-term development vision, so its appeal is limited to “short-term players,” making it difficult to establish lasting user stickiness and ecological construction.

Why ICM Might Just Be Another Wave of Meme Speculation

The concept behind ICM is indeed very appealing. However, there is always a trade-off between efficiency and security. When you save time and lower the threshold, you inevitably sacrifice a part of the protection mechanism.

Founders are not required to assume any responsibility

Unlike traditional capital markets, traditional projects usually need to go through strict roadshows, due diligence, and regulatory approvals before conducting an IPO. In ICM, founders only need to @Believe on official Twitter to easily launch their own token.

But the problem is: the founders have no delivery commitments or legal obligations, nor is there a safeguard mechanism to ensure they fulfill their initial goals. This lack of accountability is concerning, especially since there have been instances where even “presidential-level” accounts have forwarded a certain token’s contract address, only to later delete the posts or distance themselves by claiming “the account was hacked.” This also reveals the significant risks of the ICM model in an open yet unregulated state.

Figure 9: The official guide released by Clout emphasizes that the token must be used in non-securities scenarios (2025) [10]

According to LaunchCoin’s official guidelines, the platform has very strict legal compliance requirements in place to avoid the token itself being classified as a security or investment product. For example, tokens must not represent equity and must not imply any form of return on earnings. They should be designed more like digital memorabilia for supporters to show their support for the project, rather than a security that generates revenue, dividends, or profit-sharing.

This also reveals a key issue: there is a huge disconnect between the token itself and the underlying project. According to the guidelines, the token is essentially very similar to a meme coin — it has no actual use, and its existence is more a symbol of “supporting a certain founder.”

Although this method can indeed help project parties raise funds and promote project progress, many investors may mistakenly believe they are participating in a quality early investment opportunity. Many consider themselves to be playing the role of angel investors, helping struggling entrepreneurs; however, the truth is that these tokens do not promise any returns and lack any guarantee mechanisms.

Abused Narrative

Figure 10: Market statistics of the Believe ecosystem, including tokens ranked by market capitalization, trading volume, and 24-hour price fluctuations (2025) [11]

From the current market data, ICM’s initial vision was to support founders and their projects, but it is now clearly being abused. Among the top three projects by market cap on the platform, two are essentially meme coins.

ICM was originally intended to empower truly creative builders, but the current situation is quite ironic: many people are merely using the narrative of “supporting projects” as a facade, while in reality, they are still creating waves of meme hype. These tokens, which have no constructive significance, are instead receiving more attention and becoming more famous than the projects that genuinely need financial support [17].

What is the next step for ICM

Currently, issuing tokens on Believe is cost-free for founders, but its market performance highly depends on the continuous advancement of the project itself. In order to motivate founders to continuously update the project and maintain community interest in the project, Believe should consider optimizing the existing economic model (tokenomics).

For example, a penalty mechanism can be set up through smart contracts: if the founder does not update the project for a long time or is in a “missing” status, they will not be able to receive transaction fee income. In addition, establishing a DAO mechanism is also very necessary, allowing the community to have voting rights and project feedback rights, thereby improving transparency and the sense of responsibility of the founding team.

Fundamentally, I think ICM is not just a short-term meme hype, it does have more potential, but only if there are clearer rules and a more mature ecosystem to support development. ICM’s philosophy reminds me of TON’s rollout path – TON has successfully brought a large number of Web2 users into the Web3 world with the help of the Telegram platform.

Currently, all encryption assets account for only about 0.56% of the total global money supply [18]. If we want Web3 to truly become mainstream, we must provide a simpler and more intuitive way to use it. The true value of ICM is that it can attract and convert a large number of Web2 users without requiring them to have in-depth Web3 knowledge.

Although some currently view Believe as another meme-style issuance platform, it is rapidly developing and has captured market share that was originally dominated by established platforms like Pump Fun on the Solana chain. By diluting Pump Fun’s monopoly position, the selling pressure faced by Solana has also been alleviated.

In the past, Pump Fun was almost monopolizing the token issuance platform, allowing free trading with $SOL, and users were forced to use it as their primary option. Now, the rise of Believe has broken this situation, bringing more competitive choices for retail investors and reducing the liquidity risks caused by centralized platforms [17].

Figure 11: Market share of daily active addresses for major token issuance platforms on Solana, comparing the share of BelieveApp with competitors like PumpFun and LetsBonk (2025) [12]

In the short term, if Believe can maintain its advantage in competition with other traditional token issuance platforms, the narrative of ICM is likely to persist in the long run, as achieving mass adoption of Web3 has always been the ultimate goal of the entire ecosystem.

But if Believe wants to truly establish itself and not become a flash-in-the-pan hype platform like Clanker, it must further strengthen and expand its unique positioning: not just as a tool for issuance, but also as a platform for promoting project incubation and real value creation.

Figure 12: The price chart of Let’s Bonk ($BONK) shows its initial surge and subsequent trend (2025) relying solely on the “narrative” [13]

This means that ICM must build deeper practical value around the concept of “Internet Capital Market.” Specifically, it can start from the following directions:

• Promote a truly meaningful community governance mechanism (DAO)
• Establish a system where founders are held accountable continuously
• Integrate projects with real-world application scenarios to attract a broader mainstream user base.

If it does not evolve in this direction, Believe may be seen by the market as just another meme platform, ultimately losing the momentum for long-term growth. To truly make a lasting impact, Believe must not only be a launch platform for meme coins but should also become an innovative platform that inspires creativity, drives projects, connects the public, and helps promote the adoption of Web3.

Appendix

[1] Lily Liu. 2025. Building Internet Capital Markets on Solana - TOKEN2049 Dubai 2025 Retrieved from

[2] Manoppo, Marco (@ManoppoMarco). 2025. LaunchCoin tokenomics workflow. Retrieved from

[3] Dexscreener. 2025. LaunchCoin price chart. Retrieved from

(Annotations by author)

[4] Cointoshi. 2025. Solana Memecoin Trading Metrics. Dune Analytics. Retrieved from

[5] Clanker Protection Team. 2025. Daily Volume of Tokens Deployed: Clanker vs. Pump Fun. Dune Analytics. Retrieved from

[6] Saputra, Rifqi (@denyosapone). 2025. Token deployment post for FISH AI. X post, May 3, 2025. Retrieved from

[7] van Goon, Pata (@basedalexandoor). 2025. Token deployment post for $GOONC. X post, May 13, 2025. Retrieved from

[8] Believe. 2025. Believe app interface screenshot. Retrieved from the Believe mobile application, May 20, 2025.

[9] Believe (@believeapp). 2025. $NOODLE just launched on Believe. Built by @alex_leiman. X post, May 13, 2025. Retrieved from

[10] Clout. 2025. Legal guidelines for creators. Clout Playbook. Retrieved from

[11] Believe Screener. 2025. Market data dashboard of the Believe ecosystem. Retrieved from

[12] BeinCrypto. 2025. Solana Launchpads Daily Active Addresses. Dune Analytics. Retrieved from

[13] GMGN.ai. 2025. Let’sBonk token ($BONK) price chart. Retrieved from

[14] Wikipedia contributors. 2025. Ben Pasternak. Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 2025, from

[15] Finet.hk. 2024. The one-click launch platform Believe rises, sparking a wave of token issuance among Hong Kong people. Retrieved from

[16] encryption Chris. 2024. Believe launched! One-click launch platform, the strongest Launchpad on the entire network?

[17] Coinsider. 2024. Solana 2024: Pump.fun, Rug AI, Believe, Clout, Launch Labs… Retrieved from

[18] Frankenfield, J. 2023. How Much of the World’s Money Is in Bitcoin? Investopedia. Retrieved from

[19] BlockBeats. 2024. Revealing the Solana Foundation Marketing Memo: The Perfect Victory of Internet Capital and the F.A.T. Principle. Published November 27, 2024. Retrieved from