What is Internet Market Capital (ICM)? Why Is Everyone Talking About Them?
By: nft evening|2025/05/16 07:45:05
0
Share
Internet Capital Markets (ICM) is a concept that is drawing significant attention within the Web3 ecosystem, especially in May 2025, as the price performance of this narrative has outpaced nearly all other sectors.What is Internet Market Capital (ICM)?Internet Capital Markets (ICM) is a capital market system built entirely on blockchain infrastructure, enabling developers or startups to raise funds directly from the community by issuing tokens that represent future ideas or products.Unlike traditional fundraising models that rely heavily on venture capital (VC) firms, ICM democratizes the investment process, allowing retail users to participate from the earliest stages.According to DexU.ai, the price index of tokens under the ICM narrative surged nearly 14% within 24 hours, outperforming categories like CEX, Lending, DeFi, AI, and RWA, signaling a strong influx of capital and attention into this trend.What makes ICM stand out is its rapid deployment, instant liquidity creation, and high transparency. However, the model also comes with a high degree of speculation, as token valuations are largely driven by expectations and community attention rather than actual product value.Source: DexU.aiHow the ICM WorksThe operational process of an Internet Capital Markets project typically includes the following steps:The process typically begins with a simple post on X, where a developer announces their token using a syntax such as “$TICKER + Name”. This triggers the automatic deployment of a token, initialized through a bonding curve with limited supply and high early transaction fees to bootstrap value and discourage early exit.From there, the token is live on Solana – the chain of choice for most ICM activity due to its low fees and fast settlement, with initial liquidity seeded via bonding mechanisms. If market participants find the idea compelling, speculative trading begins. The more convincing the narrative or community engagement, the faster the token gains traction.Source: BelieveOne of the key milestones is “graduation”, triggered when a token’s market cap reaches $100,000. At this point, liquidity deepens through integrations with Meteora pools, enhancing price discovery and stability. Builders can then claim 50% of all trading fees, with the other half going to Believe. Fee distributions are time-locked to align long-term incentives and prevent premature abandonment.If the project succeeds in gaining attention, trading volume increases, and the developer receives a portion of the transaction fees as a reward. This provides an incentive to build an actual product, creating a self-reinforcing loop:Token → community belief → market cap → product development → value creation.Source: BelieveAccording to Believe.app, over 9,000 tokens have been launched with a combined market cap exceeding $350 million as of mid-May 2025. In some cases, developers have earned over $7 million in trading fees within the first 24 hours of launch.Top Internet Market Capitals ProjectsThe main platform behind the current ICM wave is Believe.app, which allows anyone to easily create idea tokens. The platform’s native token, $LAUNCHCOIN, has reached a market capitalization of $192 million, making it a flagship representative of the decentralized funding trend.Some other prominent tokens within this ecosystem include:$DUPE: Once surged 6x within a week but has since dropped over 55%, with its market cap now around $26 million, highlighting the extreme volatility of tokens in this space.$NOODLE: A meme-style token that experienced high volatility, plunging 54.5% within 24 hours, underscoring the high-risk nature of these assets.$GOONC and $BUDDY: Emerging tokens with strong momentum, with $BUDDY posting a 1,146% gain in a single day.In addition, data from posts on X show that over 31,000 wallet addresses have interacted with tokens on Believe.app, indicating strong community engagement across the Web3 landscape.TokenChange 24h (%)Market CapHolder$LAUNCHCOIN+18%250M30,000$DUPE-59%24M7,000$NOODLE-61%3.1M6,300$GOONC-55%26.2M7,600$BUDDY-65%3.8M3,700Opportunities and Risks of ICMOpportunities and BenefitsFor developers, Internet Capital Markets open up a new path to accessing capital without the need for traditional approval or fundraising processes. They can raise tens of thousands of USD within just a few hours if the token gains strong community support.For individual investors, ICM offers a chance to get in early on breakthrough ideas, with the potential for multi-fold returns if the project succeeds. This is reminiscent of the early ICO boom in 2017 or the DeFi Summer of 2020.For everyday users, becoming an “on-chain shareholder” goes beyond simple trading – it includes participating in governance, proposing ideas, and receiving rewards from the project’s growth.User Score9.9 Promotion-10% Trading FeesGet 10% Lifetime Cashback on Every TradeClaim Reward Now!Learn moreRisks and ControversiesWhile Internet Capital Markets represents a bold reimagining of early-stage crypto fundraising, the model is far from risk-free. In fact, many industry observers are beginning to draw comparisons between ICM and previous speculative bubbles that promised transformation but collapsed under the weight of their own hype.The first major risk is extreme volatility. Tokens within the ICM ecosystem are often created and listed within minutes, usually without a working product or roadmap. As a result, their prices tend to be driven purely by sentiment. When attention fades or narrative momentum stalls, the crash can be brutal. For example, the token $NOODLE lost over 50% of its market value within 24 hours of launch – a pattern eerily reminiscent of the AI token boom in early 2023, when projects like $ALYX, $NUMA, or $GPT surged on buzz alone, only to lose 70–90% within weeks.The second major risk is fraud. With platforms like Believe.app allowing anyone to launch a token by simply posting on X, there’s little to no identity verification or accountability. This low barrier has led to a proliferation of “pump-and-dump” schemes and rug pulls. Some developers build hype, attract retail capital, and exit before any real development begins, mirroring incidents seen during the Ghibli Finance trend in late 2023, where anime-themed tokens attracted millions in liquidity before imploding almost overnight.The third and broader risk is the formation of a speculative bubble. ICM’s rise bears striking similarities to past movements like DeSci (Decentralized Science). In 2022–2023, DeSci projects promised to revolutionize scientific research by enabling open funding through crypto tokens. Despite early hype and funding, most tokens failed due to poor delivery and limited real use.Some experts warn ICM may form a bubble, as many tokens lack real products. From a legal perspective, such public fundraising – if left unregulated, may soon attract scrutiny from regulatory authorities. If ICM survives early volatility, it could grow long-term like the AI narrative did.ConclusionInternet Capital Markets are in the early stages of their development cycle, carrying both significant opportunities and considerable risks. They represent a new wave of democratized fundraising and innovation in turning ideas into tradable assets.However, for the ecosystem to survive and grow sustainably, it must evolve in terms of governance, legal clarity, and product standardization. In a world where “trust” itself can become a tradable asset, ICM serves as a critical test of the crypto market’s maturity in the coming decade.Read more: Trading with Free Crypto Signals in Evening Trader ChannelThe post What is Internet Market Capital (ICM)? Why Is Everyone Talking About Them? appeared first on NFT Evening.
You may also like
What you bought on CEX is really not US stocks: Analyzing the 94% liquidation monopoly and the evaporation of equity under a five-layer pipeline
Peeling back its smooth trading interface to examine the underlying legal relationships and settlement processes, you will find that this is far from a simple "RWA asset revolution," but rather a complex game of interests involving spot pricing, rights ownership, and the monopoly of underlying custo...
In such a crowded cross-border payment arena, where is the next stop for the future?
Only by stepping into the mud can one have the chance to touch gold.
Why Is Bitcoin Down in 2026? What We Can Learn From 2022
Why is Bitcoin down in 2026? Bitcoin has just recorded its worst first half since 2022, with back-to-back quarterly losses, record ETF outflows, and extreme fear. Here's what history says, how 2026 differs from the last bear market, and the three signals traders should wat
The large models in the United States are moving towards closure in the name of security
The government successfully inserted itself as an approver between commercial AI models and their users for the first time.
From the white-haired stock god to the billionaire fund mogul, the smart people shorting Nvidia are all getting rich using the same framework
Give up on heavily investing in Nvidia's "nine major bottlenecks"! This article analyzes the underlying logic behind top AI investors making billions: physical infrastructure such as electricity, HBM, and optical interconnects are the true keys to wealth in AI hardware.
Morning Report | CoinEx becomes a key hub for Iran to evade sanctions, involving over $3.8 billion in funds; Kalshi seeks a new round of financing, with a valuation potentially rising to $40 billion
Overview of Important Market Events on June 25
Global Launch: As predictions become the most scarce asset in the AI era, Manadia is defining the next generation of the value internet
The trusted AI prediction ecosystem Manadia, which has secured $7 million in funding from well-known institutions like OKX, will globally launch in June. The core token UMXM has already been listed on multiple mainstream platforms, inviting you to seize the new blue ocean of the trillion-level predi...
Why do cryptocurrency projects always like to change their names?
In many cases, the old names of encryption projects have no competitive advantage, only historical baggage.
Who is footing the bill for the $64 billion accounting frenzy?
Affected by Bitcoin falling below $60,000, publicly listed companies heavily invested in this asset are facing huge paper losses and valuation discounts, and their debt structure and accounting standards may trigger structural liquidity risks in the future.
I never expected that the first application of AI x Crypto would be in security auditing
AI has accelerated attack efficiency and also promoted the upgrade of defense systems. The security audit sector is undergoing a transition from a dividend model to a competitive model.
What is your view on Binance's competitive advantages?
When the dividends of rule arbitrage gradually approach zero, can we produce product strength, governance capability, and trust that are commensurate with its scale?
ETH has entered a non-consensus phase, and the turning point is approaching!
This has nothing to do with the Ethereum Foundation or Ethlabs; Ethereum needs to win by solving real problems.
The shift in the cloud of the air: from despising stablecoins a year ago to the high-profile entry of capital today
It can continue to question the cost-effectiveness of stablecoins in the G10 currency corridor, but it cannot ignore the structural opportunities of stablecoins in emerging markets, corporate finance, and on-chain settlements.
The survival dilemma of small and medium exchanges behind the withdrawal anomalies exposed by AscendEX
The living space is constantly being compressed.
Why Is Bitcoin Falling Below $60K? 5 Key Market Drivers Explained
Bitcoin has dropped sharply amid ETF outflows, Strategy stock weakness, AI stock rallies, and changing Fed expectations. Explore the key forces driving BTC’s latest correction and what traders should watch next.
Bitcoin vs. Gold in 2026: Which Asset Performs Better in Different Markets?
Bitcoin vs. gold in 2026: Why are both assets falling, and what does their changing correlation mean? Discover what drives Bitcoin and gold prices and how traders can navigate different market conditions.
The cryptocurrency industry has entered the "Show Me" era: merely relying on vision is no longer enough
The awareness level of the audience in the cryptocurrency industry—including media, institutions, and retail investors—is steadily increasing, and this trend has become a foregone conclusion.
Morning News | The draft amendment to the People's Bank of China Law aims to clarify the legal status of digital renminbi; South Korea will transfer about 40 unregistered virtual asset service providers to law enforcement agencies
Overview of Important Market Events on June 24
What you bought on CEX is really not US stocks: Analyzing the 94% liquidation monopoly and the evaporation of equity under a five-layer pipeline
Peeling back its smooth trading interface to examine the underlying legal relationships and settlement processes, you will find that this is far from a simple "RWA asset revolution," but rather a complex game of interests involving spot pricing, rights ownership, and the monopoly of underlying custo...
In such a crowded cross-border payment arena, where is the next stop for the future?
Only by stepping into the mud can one have the chance to touch gold.
Why Is Bitcoin Down in 2026? What We Can Learn From 2022
Why is Bitcoin down in 2026? Bitcoin has just recorded its worst first half since 2022, with back-to-back quarterly losses, record ETF outflows, and extreme fear. Here's what history says, how 2026 differs from the last bear market, and the three signals traders should wat
The large models in the United States are moving towards closure in the name of security
The government successfully inserted itself as an approver between commercial AI models and their users for the first time.
From the white-haired stock god to the billionaire fund mogul, the smart people shorting Nvidia are all getting rich using the same framework
Give up on heavily investing in Nvidia's "nine major bottlenecks"! This article analyzes the underlying logic behind top AI investors making billions: physical infrastructure such as electricity, HBM, and optical interconnects are the true keys to wealth in AI hardware.
Morning Report | CoinEx becomes a key hub for Iran to evade sanctions, involving over $3.8 billion in funds; Kalshi seeks a new round of financing, with a valuation potentially rising to $40 billion
Overview of Important Market Events on June 25
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com
