Launchpads on Different Blockchains
Since the advent of blockchain and cryptocurrency, we have seen different blockchain-based innovations kick off, each with different solutions that cut across various industries and sectors. It is important to note that so many of these projects had to be crowdfunded for them to come to fruition.
Crowdfunding has been a major source of funding for many crypto projects, and it has been beneficial to the crypto space in so many ways. Initial Coin Offering (ICO) was a popular method used to raise the funds needed to build crypto projects, and between 2018 and 2019, there were so many ICOs, with only a few being able to deliver on their promises. The buzz around ICOs began to die, because there were complaints and uncertainty about ICOs, considering that many people had been scammed through them.
The Birth of Launchpads
Security token offering (STO) did not get the attention it required to become a successful way to raise funds, and so it failed. Interestingly, entrepreneurs did their research and discovered that Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) was the way to go, and that birthed Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs). For token issuers to reach their audience and get investors to fund upcoming projects, they had to resort to using launchpads.
A launchpad functions as an aggregator that is used in the discovery of crypto projects when they are in their early stages, and they have been gaining traction for a while now. A launchpad helps the user identify the projects, and then the users can take part in the presale of the project’s tokens. It may also interest you to know that there is a vetting process for the projects to get listed, and this is necessary to avoid rug-pulls and scam projects.
Popular Launchpads
Here’s a list of some popular launchpads created on different blockchains:
- Lemonade (ETH)
- SuperStarter (ETH)
- PolkaStarter (ETH/BSC/MATIC)
- MoonEdge (MATIC)
- DAO Pad (ETH)
- BSCPad (BSC)
- Ignition (ETH/BSC)
- DuckStarter (ETH/BSC)
There are different launchpads out there with similar features and services, and since they must undergo vetting processes before getting listed, they are considerably safe to invest in. But we all know that the most popular launchpads on any blockchain are the native launchpad. There was always a first-mover advantage and if you look at any launchpad on Ethereum, you will notice that Polkastarter is the most popular one. The same goes for BSCPad on Binance Smart Chain and MoonEdge on Polygon. Let us take a look at the first launchpads that were created on particular blockchains.
1. Polkastarter (POLS)
Back in 2019–2020, the only Launchpads that were adopted by the crypto community were CEX Launchpads aka Binance Launchpad, Huobi Prime, and Kucoin Spotlight. Several projects were launched on centralized launchpads and were a massive success, but there was no decentralized launchpad at that moment. In late 2020, Polkastarter came into the game and announced their first decentralized launchpad on the ETH blockchain.
Since that moment, Polkastarter has launched 64 TGEs, raised almost 14 million $ and achieved a market cap of over 100 million $. The best performing IDO is Ethernity Chain, with an ATH of 272x from the token sale.
2. BSCPad (BSCPAD)
Polkastarter set the tone in Ethereum launchpads, more and more projects were aiming to take the crown. Some of them are very successful as for example DAO Maker, some of them are nothing more than a failure, as for example TrustSwap or ZeeDo. In early 2021, the focus was moving towards Binance Smart Chain, because Ethereum transactions were far too expensive. You could have paid 500$ for a transaction, to get an allocation of 200$. Most of the crypto community was searching for a better alternative and BSCPad provided it.
BSCPad is a standard launchpad with one main difference. All their projects were launched on BSC which offered a lot of advantages, such as cheap and fast transactions, which led to imminent success. The first IDO that was launched on BSCPAD gained an ATH of 329x. BSCPAD token is currently trading at 38x ROI with a lot of projects in the pipeline. Science their launch in 2021, BSCPad launched 31 TGEs, raised almost 6 million $ for their clients, and achieved a market cap of 40 million $.
3. MoonEdge (MOONED)
Not a long time ago, Matic was rebranded to Polygon. It gained more and more attention, which caused a lot of new projects to develop their solutions on Polygon Network. This led to the fact that the Polygon community needed a launchpad. Polkastarter is also offering an opportunity for projects to raise funds on Polygon, but we are talking about native launchpads and the first mover, in this case, would be MoonEdge.
Only a few weeks have passed science the launch of MoonEdge. As you can see in the stats, they launched during an unstable market, but things are getting better right now. The first IDO is already cooking, the token is trading above the IDO price, and the future seems bright. However, only time will show if it was a successful project because more and more competitors are preparing to launch their own product.
Since we have talked about the first movers, there is currently one blockchain that is getting more and more attractive for the crypto community. Terra (LUNA) is becoming very popular among blockchain enthusiasts and is rushing into the TOP 10 on Coinmarketcap. However, there is still no launchpad on Terra blockchain that would help a lot of ambitious projects to raise funds. Here comes StarTerra.
StarTerra
One thing that is peculiar to the crypto community is the volatility of crypto prices, and it has been one of the major factors hindering the mainstream adoption of crypto as an alternative payment method in place of fiat currency and credit/debit cards. With such volatility, so many people would frown at being involved with a payment method that could experience as much as a 20% dip within 24 hours; it would be a huge problem for people dealing with deferred payments like wages, mortgages, loans, etc., and so it’s only normal that mainstream adoption is taking time.
However, the Terra protocol has the right solution to the problem of price volatility, and one part of the solution was by creating a structure that was based on monetary policies that were elastic enough to facilitate the creation of cryptocurrencies with stable prices pegged to different fiat currencies. Basically, the Terra protocol is a blockchain-based protocol that facilitates the development and support of open financial systems, and stable payments; it functions like a type of digital central bank, and functions as an improvement to the traditional methods of banking that include credit/debit card networks, payment systems, loans, etc.
Terra has a native token called LUNA, and users can use the tokens for staking to keep the network secure, as well as for the governance of the ecosystem, and the collateralization needed for the price of stablecoins to remain stable. LUNA is the driving force behind the Terra ecosystem and network.
Terra has different products that it is offering users, and all of them are channeled at making crypto stable enough for people to invest in without fear of the usual market price’s volatility. However, there is one product that is unique in its delivery, one that helps crypto investors locate high quality IDO projects, as well provides them with different features. The name of the product is “StarTerra”, and it is a gamified launchpad that has amazing benefits, features, and advantages over other launchpads.
StarTerra is the first of its kind, as it provides users with a gamified launchpad where they can get access to different projects and additionally enjoy the benefits of play to earn features and NFTs. StarTerra has very ambitious goals with the main aim — to become the first mover on Terra Blockchain. It is not an easy task to combine all the trends today, but a combination of DeFi, Gamification of Blockchain, Lauchpad, Play2Earn and NFTs should sound extremely bullish to any crypto enthusiast. Furthermore, to compete in all those fields, you need to hold up with the leaders such as for example DAO Maker in fundraising or Axie and AnrkeyX in gaming sector. Luckily, Starterra has a solution to all of it.
Launchpad
The gamified launchpad of StarTerra will have advantages for all kind of participants. There would be various tiers, where you will be able to take part in the lottery for an allocation, or if you have enough STT, get a guaranteed allocation. The more you hold, the bigger is the pool weight of your tier.
The first tier is called StarTerra, where users are required to stake 500 STT. All stakes will split 5% of the pool and it is lottery based. Tiers 2,3,4 are called Lunatics, Degens and Interstellars, where users will need to stake at least 3000 STT tokens and split 15% of the pool. Here is the part where gamification comes in. You can choose your fraction (Lunatics, Degens or Interstellars) and stake your STT in those pools. The more STT are staked in your tier, the higher it is in the leaderboard and the bigger percentage of allocation is going to be available for the winning team. Through this process a winning team can add up to 20% more pool weight. The last tier is called the Whalecraft and the name speaks for itself. Top 30 wallets with the biggest amount of STT are going to get a 100% guaranteed allocation in every upcoming token offering.
With such a fundraising model, there is a win win for every participant. People that just want to test their luck can stake 500 STT and enjoy the lottery. Others can stake 3000 STT or more and participate in the leaderboard to push their team forward to get a bigger cut of the total allocation. Moreover, StarTerra has a whole universe behind it, you can read a bunch of interesting facts about fractions on their blog, which I will leave below.
Here are some of the advantages of StarTerra and Terra Blockchain:
- The transaction fees are lower.
- Transactions are faster
- It is a gamified tier system, and that brings more efficiency and effectiveness to the launchpad community.
- Availability of vetted IDO projects that are high quality.
- The deflationary tokenomics of the project will ensure that the holders of the STT enjoy the results of a decreasing model of inflation that is supported by a buyback and burning system which is facilitated by transaction fees.
If you think that all advantages are over, after you have contributed to the token sale, you are wrong. StarTerra is working on a whole post IDO campaign, where users will be eligible for weekly airdrops. In the V2 version they are also planning to release an NFT set, where you will be able to customize it with purchased items like different skins or weapons. At the moment not every utility has being released, so keep an eye on their ANN and social media channels.
The last but not least is the question of how to get your hands on STT tokens?
There will be at least five ways of doing so:
- If you are a $LUNA staker, you will be able to participate in the STT airdrop (1 million STT).
- If you are a bLUNA provider, you will also get your cut of STT tokens (1 million STT).
- There will be a whitelist for community members (1 million STT).
- StarTerra will hold a public presale (1 million STT).
- StarTerra will hold a post IDO on their platform (1 million STT).
All gaming and NFT projects are on the raise currently and the most popular launchpads in the industry have brought significant gains and have outperformed BTC and almost all major altcoins. Terra Blockchain is gaining momentum now, we are slowly returning to the bull market feeling and a gamified launchpad with NFTs on Terra Blockchain sounds very exciting to me.
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