Make ICOs great again: Why revive initial coin offering trend?
Why we need ICOs
The inner circle of U.S. President Donald Trump has unexpectedly turned its attention back to ICOs. World Liberty Financial believes that this fundraising method could experience a "second wind" and challenge the dominance of memecoins. But is this really the case?
The initial coin offering (ICO) model may once again gain popularity and success—at least, that’s the belief of Zack Folkman, co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto company affiliated with the Trump family.
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Speaking at the Consensus conference in Hong Kong alongside Tron founder Justin Sun, Folkman touched on the topic of venture investments, arguing that the current memecoin trend brings no real value. According to him, people are taking excessive risks on tokens that lack any utility, whereas ICOs serve a meaningful purpose.
"Our whole idea is that we want to make ICOs great again. ICOs used to be great. People could participate in projects, and everyone had access to the same opportunities. That’s not something we've seen in recent years," he said.
Justin Sun, however, does not view the memecoin industry negatively, believing it will continue to thrive. He pointed to the enduring success of Dogecoin as proof of his argument.
"I definitely believe that memecoins are the future of cryptocurrency. They just need to be launched in the right way," Sun emphasized.
How ICOs differ from memecoins
Why did these two experts suddenly compare ICOs and memecoins? The reason lies in their fundraising mechanisms—both ICOs and memecoins are fundamentally about capital raising, but their objectives are vastly different.
An ICO is a capital-raising method in which a company issues and sells its tokens to investors in exchange for funding. These tokens typically serve a specific function within the project's ecosystem or even provide governance rights. In ICOs, token distribution typically occurs through a pre-sale, and the main goal is to fund long-term blockchain projects and development.
The peak of the ICO boom occurred in 2017, a period often referred to as the “Wild West” because tokens were launched without restrictions. As a result, U.S. financial regulators took notice, leading to lawsuits and fines for many ICO projects. According to Zack Folkman, a lack of early regulation was the main reason ICOs declined.
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In contrast, memecoins—unlike ICO tokens—often lack utility and are created purely for speculation or entertainment. They are launched on blockchains like Solana and can be minted by anyone through platforms like pump.fun within hours. Unlike ICOs, which involve structured fundraising and roadmaps, memecoins can rapidly lose value due to mass sell-offs by creators or investors.
Why World Liberty Financial is pushing for ICOs
To understand why Trump’s company is nostalgic for the ICO era, it’s important to recall when it was founded. World Liberty Financial (WLF) was launched in 2024, attempting to issue its own token (WLFI) following a hybrid ICO/DeFi model.
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Under this model, 35% of the token supply was sold to investors, allowing the company to raise $300 million. However, according to Infinex founder Kain Warwick, this figure could have been much higher.
"If Trump had launched World Liberty Financial in 2017, it would have raised a billion dollars," Warwick said.
He believes that the weak WLFI token sale was due to a shift in the market meta—from ICO fundraising to memecoins. World Liberty Financial seems unwilling to accept this reality.
What are the chances of an ICO revival?
While ICOs never fully disappeared, their popularity is currently at an all-time low compared to the hype of 2017. However, theoretically, ICOs could regain traction due to regulatory changes and political influence.
Donald Trump’s return to power, along with his pro-crypto stance, could create a more favorable environment for token sales. His company, World Liberty Financial, is actively promoting ICOs as an alternative for raising funds in the crypto industry. If the U.S. government eases restrictions and provides clear regulations, ICOs could once again become a viable fundraising method for startups.
However, a return to the wild ICO era of 2017-2018 is unlikely. Today, the crypto market’s trends are dictated not by individual companies but by user sentiment, which is currently focused on memecoins. Launching a token on pump.fun requires minimal effort, and its success is driven more by social media hype than by technological innovation.
Even if ICOs become legally viable and structured, memecoins—which are easier to create and promote—will likely remain the dominant trend in the crypto space.
