Can Solana’s ICMs Make You Rich? Here Are 5 Must-Know Facts

Introduction

Okay pause. For a moment, picture this: You’re scrolling through Twitter, see a founder’s viral idea, and reply with “@launchcoin $COOLIDEA.” Seconds later, a token is born. Within hours, it’s trading millions in volume. Welcome to Internet Capital Markets (ICMs), the 2025 crypto meta that’s turning tweets into tradable assets. But some are asking: are ICMs truly the next big crypto narrative or just 2017-style ICOs dressed up in a fresh coat?

Here are five things you need to know about ICMs, the platforms making them happen, and why at Beluga we’re keeping a close eye on this trend.

1. ICMs vs. ICOs: Same DNA, Different Beast

Remember 2017’s ICO frenzy? Projects raised billions on whitepapers alone. ICMs feel familiar but with critical upgrades:

• Speed & Accessibility: No lengthy whitepapers. Tokens launch via social commands (like Believe.app’s tweet-to-token feature).
• Instant Liquidity: Tokens trade immediately via bonding curves—no waiting for exchange listings.
• Democratized Entry: Anyone globally can invest $5, not just VCs or accredited whales.

But the core promise remains: Democratize funding for internet-native ideas. The difference? ICMs leverage 2025’s infrastructure—Solana’s speed, AI hype, and meme culture.

2. How ICMs Actually Work: Tweet → Trade → Profit?

Without going too deep into the technical aspect of it, here’s how ICMs actually work:

It all starts with a simple tweet: someone posts “@launchcoin $MYPROJECT,” and just like that, a bot deploys a new token with a limited supply and steep initial trading fees, typically around 2-4%. If the concept strikes a chord with the community, speculation kicks in and trading volume takes off, rewarding early buyers riding the momentum. Once the token hits a $100K market cap, it “graduates” to deeper liquidity pools like Meteora, where the creator can earn 50% or more of the accumulated trading fees.

This model enables projects to rapidly raise capital for promising ideas (and sometimes, just for fun) while allowing users to seamlessly purchase tokens on-chain.

Top ICM coins by marketcap, Source: CoinMarketCap

3. Who’s Leading the Charge? Top ICM Platforms

The ICM space is dominated by a few key players:

• Believe.app
  • The Face of ICMs: Powering 9,000+ token launches.
  • Native Token: $LAUNCHCOIN ($350M+ market cap).
  • Viral Hits: Tokens like $DUPE (price-comparison tool) and $BUDDY (AI content assistant) surged 1,146% in 24hrs before crashing.
• DAO Maker & Republic
  • Focus on compliant token launches (e.g., Republic’s SEC-registered Avalanche-based tokens).
• Rising Stars:
  • $FITCOIN (AI wardrobe app, 300K users)
  • $AURA (energy-tracking camera app)
  • $GIGGLES (TikTok competitor with crypto rewards).

Top token launches on Believe, Source: Believe.app

4. Opportunities vs. Risks: The Beluga Breakdown

The Good:

• Founder Freedom: Skip VC pitch decks. Solo devs can bootstrap ideas fast.
• Concept Validation: Real-time market feedback > months of surveys.

Why It’s Sketchy:

• Pump-and-Dump Galore: 90% of tokens crash 80-90% within weeks.
• Zero Accountability: No product? No roadmap? No problem. Creators face no legal obligation to deliver.

Regulatory Target: The SEC already eyes unregistered securities; ICMs could be next. 

5. Beluga’s Take: Hype Machine or Paradigm Shift?

Today’s Internet Capital Markets (ICMs) are still largely driven by hype; about 80% speculation and 20% real innovation. The $216 million market cap can feel frothy, especially when meme tokens like $NOODLE briefly surge into the millions. 

But beneath the noise lies a genuinely intriguing concept. ICMs offer true democratization by enabling anyone to tokenize assets like indie films, local businesses, or even social movements, cutting out traditional gatekeepers. 

They also align incentives more thoughtfully, as creators only earn fees if they continue building, often through locked distributions. Some even see this as Web3’s “NASDAQ moment” - Solana’s chairman, Lily Liu, described ICMs as the foundation for a global infrastructure where 5 billion internet users can truly own assets.

Wrapping It Up

The verdict? It’s still too early to say for sure. In crypto, we’ve seen time and again that what starts as a joke and often dismissed by the mainstream, can end up becoming the cornerstone or benchmark of the industry. Right now, ICMs may feel like a chaotic mix of memes, casino-style tokenomics, and fleeting hype. But that doesn’t mean they won’t mature into something more meaningful over time.

For now, they’ve cracked open the door to a future where a teenager in Jakarta can fund her app through viral tweets, and a farmer in Kenya can tokenize his crop yield to raise capital. Now, that’s powerful.