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In 2017, crypto startups raised more than $20 billion through a frenzy of Initial Coin Offerings.

It was the age of the ICO boom.

I remember just how wild it was, similar to the end of the dotcom boom. Investors were buying digital tokens tied to ideas that barely existed, while startups with nothing but a whitepaper were raising millions overnight.

Yet, for a brief period, it seemed like the internet had found a way to replace Wall Street.

Then the bubble burst.

By 2018, nearly half of all ICOs had failed.

Image: tokendata.io

Billions in investor capital had evaporated, and regulators all over the world started cracking down hard on crypto.

That could’ve been the end of the experiment. But last week, Coinbase decided to resurrect it…

And maybe fix what went wrong.

THE ICO IS BACK

On November 10, Coinbase announced a new platform that lets users buy crypto tokens before they list on the exchange.

The company calls it: “a more sustainable and transparent way for projects to distribute tokens.”

In other words, we’re moving into ICO 2.0. But this time there will be more rules.

Of course, platforms like Pump.fun have already been operating in this territory for a while, but in a less formal and more risky way. Built on Solana, Pump.fun lets anyone spin up a new token in minutes and start trading it almost immediately.

And the results have been staggering. As of mid-2025, the platform had spawned more than 11.9 million tokens and generated over $780 million in revenue.

But most of these tokens never made it past the first day.

That’s because Pump.fun is built for speed, not staying power. Anyone can launch a token, with little vetting or accountability.

And most do it for the hype. The tokens generated on Pump.fun are often memecoins, although the platform has recently pivoted towards launching more utility tokens.

Coinbase is approaching its ICO platform differently. If Pump.fun is the casino of the crypto world, Coinbase wants to be the stock exchange.

According to the company, It plans to host one public token sale per month as the program scales.

First up is Monad Labs, a new Layer 1 blockchain aiming to rival Solana’s transaction speeds. Monad will sell 7.5 billion MON tokens (7.5% of its supply) at $0.025 each, raising about $187 million if fully subscribed. The sale will open on November 17 and run until November 22.

Buyers can invest as little as $100 or as much as $100,000, but they must use USD Coin (USDC). That’s the stablecoin backed one-to-one by U.S. dollars we’ve been talking about a lot recently.

When the sale closes, Coinbase will use an algorithmic allocation model that favors smaller investors. The company calls it “fill from the bottom.”

And to me, that’s what makes this new platform so exciting. It gives everyday investors a fair shot at getting in early, without being crowded out by bigger players.

Each project must also submit tokenomics disclosures and accept a six-month lockup before team members can sell their own tokens.

This new platform represents a major shift for the company. But why is it happening now?

Because the crypto industry is starving for new funding models.

Global token fundraising peaked at nearly $20 billion in 2018, then collapsed to under $1 billion by 2020. And it has never fully recovered.

Venture capital has filled the gap — in 2024, VC firms invested about $11.5 billion into crypto and blockchain startups — but much of that money still flows to a handful of elite projects.

Meanwhile, retail investors have been shut out.

But Coinbase is betting that a structured, transparent platform can change that.

It’s also a smart way for the company to evolve its business. Trading volumes on Coinbase are down roughly 40% since 2021, and trading fees across the industry keep shrinking as rivals like Binance and Kraken slash costs to compete.

So Coinbase is moving into the same lucrative territory that investment banks occupy in traditional markets…

Origination.

By hosting token sales, Coinbase becomes both the underwriter and the exchange, taking fees from issuers while locking users deeper into its ecosystem.

It’s the digital equivalent of Nasdaq and Goldman Sachs rolled into one. And it’s a move that fits perfectly into Coinbase’s broader strategy.

Earlier this year, the company introduced x402, an internet payment protocol that lets one piece of software pay another using USDC.

Now it’s adding another layer with the ability for software to raise capital directly from users.

This is what I mean when I talk about creating a true internet capital market — a global system where anyone can fund innovation without banks or borders.

In practical terms, it means a developer in Kenya could instantly raise money — transparently, and in dollars — from a user in Kansas.

That’s the world Satoshi Nakamoto imagined when he launched Bitcoin.

And Coinbase is trying to make it real, one token sale at a time.

HERE’S MY TAKE

Coinbase seems to be launching its new platform cautiously.

I believe that’s the right approach. Because the SEC still believes that most token sales qualify as securities.

Even with the guardrails Coinbase has put in place, it could still face regulatory scrutiny. The company says it has “consulted extensively” with regulators, but it’s unclear if this new platform has formal approval.

And market risk is another factor here. ICOs are often volatile. If the first few sales flop or if these projects don’t deliver, it could kill enthusiasm for this new platform.

Still, it could be the most important experiment in crypto finance since the launch of Ethereum.

If Coinbase’s model succeeds, it could open a regulated path for public participation in early-stage projects. That would mean faster funding for developers and broader ownership for users.

It would represent a genuine bridge between traditional markets and decentralized finance.

In other words, the internet could finally have its own IPO system. And everyone will be able to take part in funding the future.

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