Internet capital markets (ICM) is a new meta with the potential to disrupt traditional fundraising mechanisms. In this guide, you will learn the top internet capital markets trends in 2025 as we consider whether this sector has any staying power in 2025 and beyond.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
➤ Internet capital markets (ICM) have radically lowered the barriers to launching and funding tokenized projects, allowing anyone to raise capital for virtually any idea.
➤ AI integration, social media engagement, and tokenized fundraising are driving the most significant trends within the ICM sector.
➤ Despite explosive initial growth, recent data shows a sharp decline in new token launches, raising questions about the sustainability of the ICM model.
➤ The long-term success of ICM depends on the sector’s ability to evolve beyond speculative hype and deliver real, value-driven projects.
Top 3 internet capital markets trends
Many of the top trends are not exclusive to the internet capital markets sector but have found a home there. These trends include tokenizing fundraising, artificial intelligence, and social media. Here’s a quick look at each and how they are integral to the current ICM craze.
1. Tokenizing fundraising
Tokenized fundraising represents a shift from permissioned capital to permissionless capital, where narratives, not just fundamentals, drive liquidity. In traditional capital markets, funding is gatekept and relegated, meaning only a chosen, privileged few benefit from access to investment.
When a project or business seeks funding in traditional finance, it must undergo a rigorous and exhaustive process before gaining access to investors. This typically entails strict auditing standards, legal agreements, registration, and many other actions that guarantee the safety of investors. While this is good for many, it can also restrict opportunity.
Internet capital markets (ICM) isn’t just about how you fundraise — it’s about who gets funded and what kind of ideas qualify (e.g., memes, social experiments, etc.)
With ICM, the barrier to entry is significantly lower, unlike traditional web3-native funding mechanisms, which require:
- Roadmaps
- Early funding
- Formal teams
ICM enables anyone to launch a tokenized idea — whether it’s a meme coin, a personal brand, or a speculative experiment. One of the most popular examples of projects using tokenized fundraising in ICM markets is Launch Coin on Believe (LAUNCHCOIN).
LAUNCHCOIN is the native token of the Believe app, a token launchpad for ICM projects. Ben Pasternak created Clout.me (later renamed to Believe.app). LAUNCHCOIN is now used within Believe to facilitate the launch of new tokens, share trading fees, and support platform operations.
2. Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is, of course, one of the dominant technological narratives of 2025; this will most certainly remain the case in years and decades to come. A sector once relegated to bootstrapping customer service chatbots and troubleshooting agents has expanded into AI models that create art, AI tokens, and even deploy smart contracts.
With the marriage of internet capital markets and AI, access to investments and funding can allow for a more ambitious environment for developing artificial intelligence. Some of the projects that are utilizing ICM funding include:
- Yapper (YAPPER): An AI-powered tool designed to help content creators optimize their content and maximize engagement, especially those active on X (formerly Twitter).
- Creator Buddy (Buddy): A deepfake AI platform that allows users to create high-quality, lip-synced videos by overlaying AI-generated voices and faces onto any video content.
- Kingnet AI (KNET): A collaborative web3 game creation platform powered by artificial intelligence. It features a no-code, visual AI engine that enables users, even those without technical backgrounds, to build blockchain games easily.
3. Social media
There are an estimated 8.2 billion people worldwide — over half of them are on social media. From Facebook to Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok, social media is a common facet in the everyday lives (both private and professional) of most in 2025.
However, with the increasing demand for users’ data, censorship, and general discontent, many users seek alternatives to their favorite social media platforms.
Web3 has taken up the mantle to solve these problems, and many decentralized social media platforms have converged upon the internet capital markets sector. This is not particularly surprising, as many startups find it difficult to bootstrap their platforms early on.
With internet capital markets, creator economies turn engagement into market caps. Additionally, projects can bootstrap their platforms directly from the consumer via crowdfunding rather than long, drawn-out IPOs. Some of the most popular ICM projects leveraging social media are Vine and Yapper.
Vine was a mobile video-sharing application that allowed users to create and share short-form videos called “Vines.” Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll, founded Vine in 2012 and sold it to Twitter the same year. Twitter discontinued it in January 2017.
In 2025, Rus Yusupov launched Vine (VINE) on Solana, inspired by the once-popular social media platform. The launch was also timed around renewed public interest in Vine following Elon Musk’s comments on X about possibly reviving the platform.
On the other hand, JellyJelly is both a social video chat app and a meme coin. It is designed to make it easy for users to create, edit, and share viral video content directly from video chats. Users can earn and receive tips from posting on the app in the form of Jelly-My-Jelly (JELLYJELLY) tokens.
Is ICM a passing trend?
Internet capital markets have experienced a rapid rise since its emergence. While the sector has experienced explosive growth, many people question its long-term viability.
Some sources indicate a rapid decline in activity in the ICM sector. Token creations reached its height on May 13, peaking at 4,977 launches in a single day. This number sharply declined by May 20, signaling an almost 80% drop in less than a month, according to Dune analytics.
The success of the ICM sector depends on its ability to evolve beyond speculative token launches. Promoting more launches backed by projects with actual products and services could extend ICM’s lifecycle.
Hype or lasting innovation?
While the ICM market lowers the barrier to entry for investors and founders, some of the most popular internet capital market trends that have developed are artificial intelligence, social media, and tokenizing fundraising. Despite this success, the future of ICM is uncertain. ICM has introduced new methods for democratizing access to capital, but its longevity will depend on the sector’s ability to adapt and deliver tangible value.
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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