Internet capital markets (ICM) is a fast-growing trend in crypto. ICM flips the traditional investing model on its head, letting creators and backers turn ideas — memes, apps, any community-driven concept — into tradable assets. Here is everything you need to know about internet capital markets in 2025.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
➤ Internet Capital Markets (ICM) enable anyone to tokenize internet-native ideas into tradable assets.
➤ ICM bypass traditional financial gatekeepers, offering faster, cheaper, and more accessible capital formation without banks, brokers, or accreditation.
➤ Platforms like Believe simplify token creation, allowing businesses to launch tokens directly from social media with no coding required.
➤ Despite their promise, ICM tokens face criticism for volatility, lack of oversight, and similarities to meme coins in terms of their speculative nature.
What are internet capital markets?
Internet capital markets (ICM) is a buzzword for cryptocurrencies that are launched on the principle of tokenizing internet-native ideas. These might be:
- Applications
- Websites
- Projects
- Memes
In other words, businesses and developers can create a token for their concepts or projects. These tokens become tradeable assets. This allows you to invest in a project by purchasing the tokens linked to its concept or idea. In this way, ICM is a globalized capital market (i.e., the stock market, but not restricted by region).
This niche category of cryptocurrencies gained prominence in early 2025, especially on X. The term can be traced back as far as the Multicoin Capital essay The Solana Thesis: Internet Capital Markets, in which author Kyle Samani explains Solana’s potential to support decentralized internet-native capital formation.
The philosophical origins of internet native capital markets can further be traced back to Anatoly Yakovenko’s (Solana Labs co-founder) vision of Solana as a decentralized NASDAQ.
Internet capital markets vs. capital markets
Capital markets are the part of the financial system that raises capital by trading shares, bonds, and other long-term investments. The biggest difference between traditional capital markets and ICM is access.
For example, investing in traditional capital markets involves significant hurdles for both the company and the investor. Companies seeking to raise capital must typically partner with investment banks, undergo rigorous audits, and comply with extensive regulatory and legal procedures — all of which are designed to ensure investor protections.
Conversely, these safeguards come at a cost; they make the process lengthy, expensive, and inaccessible to many startups and international projects, limiting who can participate in capital formation.
ICM have increased availability, access, speed and cost, and lack any intermediaries (such as banks and brokers). ICM are not restricted by location or time of day, nor are there any intermediaries between the projects and the investors; they offer direct access to users and are less expensive for both the projects and investors.
Moreover, traditional capital markets often require investors to become accredited before they can access more lucrative opportunities.
For example, to become an accredited investor in the U.S., you must have a net worth exceeding $1 million or an annual income exceeding $200,000. Needless to say, this restricts the vast majority of people from certain investments.
| Capital markets | Internet capital markets |
|---|---|
| Geographical restrictions | Globally available 24/7 |
| Regulatory hurdles | Reduced costs for projects and investors |
| Often requires accreditation | Available to anyone/institution |
| Offers legal protections for investors | Does not have regulatory oversight |
Internet capital markets vs. meme coins
Although ICM is a fresh meta for crypto investors to rally around, the concept has drawn criticism in its similarity to meme coins.
While ICM consists of developers launching tokens rather than random people, there is still a lack of a clear vetting process and no way of ensuring projects and founders fulfil their promises.
Furthermore, ICM tokens have been criticized for a lack of intrinsic value as well as high volatility. This draws further similarity with meme coins, which many believe to be extractive due to the absence of practical utility.
It is clear though that ICM and meme coins differ in their objectives and potential. ICM aims to create a new era of on-chain investing and fundraising for internet-native projects, while meme coins primarily capitalize on internet trends.
Regardless, it’s important to approach both concepts with caution and understand the potential risks and rewards associated with each.
Where to buy ICM tokens
The Believe app is at the center of the emerging ICM trend, built around its native token, Launch Coin (LAUNCHCOIN). Ben Pasternak created Believe, which enables users to turn virtually any concept into a tradable token by posting a tweet.
The process requires no coding and results in instant token creation on Solana. Believe has been likened to pump.fun, which uses similar mechanics, such as:
- A bonding curve
- Automatic token listings on a decentralized exchange (DEX) or graduation
- A threshold market cap of $100,000 before DEX listing (~$90k on pump.fun)
Where Believe differentiates itself from Pump is in the fee mechanics. Believe uses a dynamic fee structure where early buyers pay higher fees, after which it drops to 2%. Creators split fees with the Believe platform 50/50.
Top ICM tokens in 2025
Launch Coin on Believe (LAUNCHCOIN) is the top internet capital markets token. It is the native token of the Believe app and was initially the Ben Pasternak token (PASTERNAK), but was rebranded sometime after its launch. It has a maximum supply of 1,000,000,000 LAUNCHCOIN and launched the day after Multicoin’s definitive post on ICM.
Some of the other top internet capital market coins by market cap include:
- Vine Coin (VINE): A token launched for the revival of the popular Vine social media platform.
- Dupe (DUPE): A platform that allows you to find similar products for a cheaper price.
- Jelly-My-Jelly (JELLYJELLY): A video chat platform that lets you share clips with friends.
A bold reimagining of investing
Internet Capital Markets are a bold reimagining of how capital can be raised, accessed, and deployed in a digital-first world. Whether this model matures into a lasting alternative to traditional capital markets or proves to be a passing crypto meta remains to be seen. However, it is that clear that the lines between investing, building, and creating online are becoming increasingly blurred, and ICM is at the heart of it all.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Always do your own research (DYOR).
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