GLOSSARY · BLOCKCHAIN & WEB3
Launchpad
What a launchpad is: the platform where projects launch their token to early investors, how it works and how it differs from a regulated issuance.
WHAT IS IT? · FOR DUMMIES
A launchpad is the platform where a project launches its token to the public for the first time: it centralises early-investor access, collection and distribution. It is the organised evolution of the ICO — with more filters, but without thereby becoming a regulated issuance.
WHAT IS IT? · PRO
Launchpads — run by exchanges or independent — usually require due diligence from projects and KYC from participants, and often holding the platform's token to access sales. Typical formats: fixed-price sale, auctions or allocation lotteries, with vesting schedules for what was bought.
The boundary that matters: if what is sold grants economic rights or an expectation of returns managed by others, it may be an offer of securities — and then the path is not a launchpad but an issuance under the rules of an STO. Classify before launching, as always: the MiCA/MiFID classifier is the cheap first step.
01 / Key points
- Platform for launching tokens to early investors
- Project filters + participant KYC + vesting of what is sold
- Formats: fixed price, auction or allocation lottery
- Does not make legal an offer that is really one of securities
02 / Advantages
- Organised access to early demand
- Reputational filter versus a wild launch
- Infrastructure solved: collection, distribution, vesting
03 / Disadvantages
- Uneven due diligence between platforms
- Tolls: fees and mandatory platform token
- Regulatory risk if what is sold is a disguised security