Ten Crypto Launchpads to Keep on Your Radar in 2022

The high pace of development and innovation in the crypto industry is largely attributed to new capital formation models. In the traditional investing landscape, it was only possible for a select few to participate in the early-stage investment rounds.

In crypto, however, those entry barriers are lowered to an extent where retail participants can impact the future of a project and reap the rewards of its success by joining a launchpad. For the project team, the launchpad or IDO model facilitates acquiring gains without any intermediaries. More importantly, it builds a fundamentally-driven community with a long-term vision. 

While generating returns with an IDO allocation is highly possible, there are a few important things to consider before investing in a launchpad. With increasing DeFi exploits and rug pulls, it is crucial to look for a launchpad that includes a thorough vetting process and security audits. 

Along with listing high-quality projects, a proper IDO platform should have a system that distributes tokens in a fair and transparent manner. A launchpad should use lottery-based allocations to provide equal investment opportunities for smaller investors. 

Now, it will be challenging to find a launchpad with all these prerequisites plus strong backing from well-known venture capitalists. To help you skip a few steps, we have thoroughly examined the market landscape and unearthed quite a few gems. 

UpLift DAO 

When it comes to accelerating growth and supporting projects from start to finish, UpLift DAO leads the way in DeFi. With a unique three-pillar DAO structure, UpLift built a community with global presence in over 80 countries. UpLift DAO consists of industry experts from different domains, such as venture capital, marketing, and business operations. 

Some well-known venture partners backing UpLift DAO are NEAR Foundation, Ikigai Ventures, Poolz Ventures, and Zokyo Venture Studio. 

Along with its market-making services, UpLift DAO opens up many exciting investment opportunities to explore across DeFi. The cross-chain launchpad recently announced an integration with the Polygon ecosystem. It aims to launch various next-generation projects, from NFT marketplaces and ASM protocols to yield aggregators and decentralized exchanges throughout 2022. 

Since its inception in November 2021, UpLift DAO has already shipped three IDOs, raising 750,000 BUSD. Furthermore, there are now over 7000 active stakers getting governance rights and lucrative opportunities for a low-rate IDO allocation. 

BSCPad

BSCPad is an IDO platform for projects built only on Binance Smart Chain. It is one of the oldest and most well-established launchpads with a high volume of project listings. Investors can get a guaranteed allocation, given they stake more than 10,000 BSCPad tokens or complete a whitelist requirement. 

While Binance can help projects tap into deep liquidity and a global audience, the cost of entry to get a guaranteed tier allocation is extreme. In addition, even if one gets an IDO slot, the amount of tokens allocated is low compared to other launchpads. 

EnginStarter

One of the leading launchpads focussed on blockchain gaming and the metaverse sector is EnginStarter. Developed on Enjin’s Jumpnet, EnginStarter is an all-in-one launchpad for game creators to raise capital and build passionate gaming communities. 

With its proprietary NFT infrastructure, the platform assists project owners in generating funds through NFT sales with zero gas fees. On top of raising starter capital, EnginStarter also provides end-to-end support with token management, community engagement, staking, and locking services. 

PolkaStarter 

When it comes to launchpads, cross-chain features and interoperability are crucial. PolkaStarter is one of the launchpads with both attributes, supporting Ethereum and Polkadot-issued assets. Thanks to Polkadot’s scaling solutions, the launchpad offers a polished experience for investors with fast and cheap transactions. 

PolkaStarter also offers a variety of fundraising styles, including dutch auction, dynamic auction, and fixed ratio swaps. All in all, PolkaStarter is a versatile launchpad with solid infrastructure and interactive utility features. 

TronPad 

TronPad is a combination of BSCPad’s launchpad solutions and Tron’s blockchain technology. The functionality offered by TronPad is similar to that of BSCPad in terms of allocation and tier system. 

Investors have to stake more than 50,000 TronPad tokens for guaranteed allocation and high pool weight. There are three guaranteed tiers: Moon, Mars, and Sun. The launchpad also has a lottery tier, which requires investors to stake 15,000 tokens. 

Seedify

Seedify is another gaming-based launchpad aiming to introduce fundamentally strong play-to-earn games to the crypto masses. To participate in Seedify’s IGO offerings, investors need to join the nine-tier system, with the lowest and highest token requirement at 250 and 100,000 SFUND tokens, respectively. 

The blockchain gaming launchpad also partnered with Quickswap to launch Polygon-built projects and increase awareness through DEX listings. Seedify is backed by NGC Ventures and also has a great team of strategic advisors, including Alex Becker and Tony, aka JRNY Crypto. 

Bull Perks 

Bull Perks established a BSC-built launchpad called BullStarter. It is an up-and-coming launchpad, offering various investment opportunities for all types of investors. BullStarter leverages a four-tier token system, with Bronze and Titanium bull being the lowest and highest tiers, respectively. 

The decentralized VC launchpad is also compatible with Ethereum, making blockchain investments more accessible. Some of the widely known projects launched on BullStarter are Unreal Finance, HighStreet, and Bloktopia. 

Metalaunch 

Metalanch is a cross-chain metaverse launchpad by Asva Labs, supporting Polygon, Binance, Avalanche, and Solana ecosystems. It also has a unique DeFi marketplace for Initial NFT Offerings (INOs). Project owners can feature their in-game assets and offer various NFTs and virtual assets to increase their visibility. 

In terms of allocation, Metalaunch adopts a community-first approach with a three-round system. In the public round, investors from guaranteed tiers participate. The second round is for community members who actively contribute to the project. If there are unsold tokens from the first and second rounds, Metalaunch will have the third round on a first-come first-served basis. 

TrustSwap 

TrustSwap is an all-around application fulfilling the needs of a diverse DeFi ecosystem, from a crypto trading app and farming pools to enterprise escrow solutions and industry-leading launchpads. 

What makes TrustSwap a reliable launchpad is its SmartLock technology, which ensures tokens are securely locked. They are released only after the vesting period is over. This technology also helps in filtering potential rug-pulls and pump-and-dump projects. 

Red Kite

Powered by PolkaFoundry, Red Kite is a multi-chain launchpad that hand-picks projects for IDO launches. It supports assets on Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and Polkadot pools. Red Kite is raising the bar for investor protection by using a bot system and several other advanced features like pre-ordering services and a one-hour refundable window. 

On the Red Kite platform, the tier for allocation is determined by the number of reputation points a user owns. Based on the reputation points, there are four tiers: Dove, Hawk, Eagle, and Phoenix. 

Launchpads: Capital-Efficient Models to Drive Innovation in Crypto

It is undeniable how massive the impact launchpads have made in the crypto industry over the last two years. By disrupting the traditional investing regimes, launchpads make it possible for every investor, irrespective of background and location, to participate in early-stage deals.

In addition, launchpads also empower entrepreneurs with sufficient capital and resources to take their projects to the next level. Moving forward, launchpads will be the go-to marketplace for serious investors, given they have a robust filtering process and strong backing from industry leaders.