The Power Players Shaping DeFi

Top IDOs of Q3 2024: Driving the Future of DeFi

Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs) are once again buzzing, with promising projects continuing to boost investors’ portfolios, especially those who bet on projects early on. In fact, since their rise in the 2020s, IDOs have outperformed traditional ways of investing. With successful projects like Polkastarter and Uniswap’s IDO, we have witnessed how hefty ROI can be.This investment scenario excites not just investors but also developers and the broader crypto community. That said, the Web3 space never slows down, and Q3 of 2024 has been no exception. 

Let’s get our hands on the top five IDOs of Q3 2024 that have raised massive investments from across the crypto space and could make early adopters millionaires in 2025!

EigenLayer ($EIGEN)

The restaking protocol EigenLayer has emerged as a standout IDO in Q3 2024. Built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, this project allows users to deposit and stake ETH. EigenLayer enables users to resume their staked ETH across multiple networks and applications, boosting the overall resilience of multiple protocols. EigenLayer’s stake drop (an airdrop for users who restake ETH) is a key aspect of its token distribution. However, the total supply of 1.67 billion native tokens, $EIGEN, is planned to be utilized within the crypto-economic security system known as intersubjective forking. By allowing ETH stakers to restake their assets, either native ETH or liquid staking tokens (LST), it helps secure decentralized applications (dApps) and earn additional rewards. 

The project has also hit headlines with its funding effort. It has raised approximately $64.5 million in its private and seed funding rounds from top venture capital firms, including Polychain Capital and Coinbase Ventures. With these high-profile backers, the project has garnered the attention of the crypto community, highlighting why this project could result in an impressive ROI in Q3 2024.

The EigenLayer IDO has attracted significant interest from DeFi participants, amplified by its solid use case and the robust demand for restaking solutions. As Ethereum continues to evolve, EigenLayer stands as a pioneering project pushing the boundaries of what staked assets can achieve, making it a key IDO to watch in 2024.

Pencils Protocol ($DAPP)

The project is one of the top 3 DeFi farming protocols in the crypto space and has ranked as the #1 DeFi platform on the Scroll ecosystem. As per the latest announcement, Pencils Protocol has hit a massive $350 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) and has grown to over 550K active users. Notably, the project’s $DAPP token sale was launched on TokenSoft recently. Following the successful $DAPP token sale, the $DAPP staking platform has also been released, and users will be able to soon participate in staking.

Pencils Protocol continues to lead the way in DeFi innovation with successful backing by top crypto leaders including OKX Ventures, Taisu Ventures, Sandy Peng (co-founder of Scroll), Bing Ventures, Black GM Capital, DePIN, Presto Labs, Animoca, and others. In fact, the investment by these ventures and other investors has hit the company valuation to $80 million post-money. Also, the token is said to be listed on OKX Cryptopedia, which hints at the project’s upcoming listing on the OKX crypto exchange, as historically, tokens that get entry into OKX Cryptopedia often make their listing on the OKX exchange. This has sparked massive interest among the crypto community and the enormous potential of the $DAPP token holds for its early investors.

Besides TokenSoft, Pencils Protocol has had a successful launch of the $DAPP token on other platforms, including Coresky and Bounce, broadening its reach and attracting a diverse pool of investors. The project could also re-launch its $DAPP token sale on TokenSoft, as per the official announcement.

At its core, this DeFi project acts as an auction platform and yield aggregator. By partnering with the Scroll ecosystem, the project uses zero-knowledge technology, enhancing the privacy, transparency, and scalability of decentralized applications.

It’s worth noting that with over half a million users and $350 million TVL, Pencils Protocol is setting the bar high for IDOs and has emerged as a standout IDO in Q3 2024.

AutoLayer ($LAY3R)

Yet another IDO that investors could bet on is AutoLayer. The project operates within the Arbitrum network, simplifying complex staking processes, thus allowing both seasoned DeFi users and newcomers to engage in DeFi strategies. The project focuses on Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT) finance, enabling users to stake multiple assets easily and compound their yields. Moreover, it integrates with EigenLayer and uses Liquid Stake tokens (LST), allowing participants to be flexible in how and when they stake assets. Besides being the most attractive presale investment, this project has positioned itself as a promising player in the DeFi landscape. 

AutoLayer’s $LAY3R token sale was launched on the Poolz Finance Launchpad in early September 2024. The IDO token sale of $LAY3R represents 1.44% of the total supply of 32,000,000 LAY3R tokens, which is about 461,538 tokens. Notably, the goal was to raise $300,000 with each $LAY3R token priced at 0.65 USDT. The token access yield optimization tools, and holders of $LAY3R can vote on protocol upgrades.

What’s More? 

Other exciting projects like Metacces, which bridges the gap in digital access, ensuring technology is available to everyone; deBridge, which enhances interoperability by allowing seamless cross-chain transactions, simplifying how users interact with various networks; and Hamster Kombat, offering a unique blend of DeFi and gaming, have impressed both gamers and investors alike. Collectively, these IDOs are driving the crypto market forward.

Conclusively, the growth in IDOs has been largely attributed to the enormous interest from retail investors who seek high ROI by tapping into early projects. The CoinGecko report highlights the growth in total crypto market cap, reaching 64.5% in Q1 2024, making it $2.9 trillion. It’s exciting to see what Q3 holds for retail investors in the crypto space. No doubt, IDOs in Q3 2024 continue to show the promising future of decentralized finance with promising projects like Pencils Protocol and others. Whether for new or seasoned investors, IDOs and the overall DeFi ecosystem have shown exponential growth for investment.