Reality probably is that neither is inherently good or bad.We’ve had good airdrops and bad ones.We’ve had good ICOs at reasonable valuations and cash grabs.This cycle it feels like both airdrops and ICOs were largely underwhelming tho.A few did really well, Kaito being a good example in early 2025.But most of what came after was meh.However that says more about the teams (and maybe us) than about airdrops or ICOs themselveswale.moca 🐳 (@waleswoosh):The biggest scam of this cycle was teams convincing us that ...

The biggest scam of this cycle was teams convincing us that airdrops are bad and ICOs are somehow superior ...

I'm not trading right now. Here's what I'm doing instead:AI vibe-explore crypto via APIs:e.g, @zerion API, @AlliumLabs for wallet analytics, building trackers etc.@MessariCrypto .md skill & API, Nansen-cli, @DefiLlama and many more.Research and try them out by analyzing your wallets, giving you onchain data. Whatever. The goal is to learn while doing.Extra: try trading using AI agents via @moltdotid, @TradeBoba... Please share more as this is on my to-do list.For degens: check out tokens launched by AI agen ...

I'm incredibly bullish on ICOs for a few reasons. [music] I think one, it just gets the community involved, right. And especially if your community is, you know, the users of your product.Um, it could drive, you know, volume, TVL, etc., it's actually very high EV to do an ICO. The bigger challenge is these launchpad or ICO platforms. They're going to have to continue to do a very good job curating exactly which companies they allow to ICO and at what price these things ICO.The reason why Metadow has really ...

One, I'm very bullish on Salana from the perspective of pretty much every founder I meet in consumer. That is where they just default go to build, right. And on the other side of the spectrum, I expect to see like a very strong reversal in Ethereum sentiment.I think we've already begun that with Genius Act, Clarity Act, improvement in REV and TVL, DAT bid, institutional bid. I think everything is just going to go Ethereum's way this year in particular. Bankless Nation, I want to introduce you to Arnov Pagad ...

💡 Key Takeaways:🔹 Markets remain range-bound but sentiment improves slightly🔹 ETH shows relative strength as ETF and staking narratives grow🔹 ICOs regain traction as viable fundraising routes🔹 Perpetual DEXes remain the core revenue engine of DeFi🔹 Infrastructure upgrades continue despite muted price action📊 Data as of 6:45 AM UTC on December 12, 2025.Stay informed, stay ahead: https://t.co/hTpl7S4ZO06/6 ...

This is exactly what we are starting to see now.So many ICOs announced since the start of the month, most of which are destined for zero.Your goal for the next few weeks should be to ignore 99% of ICOs and focus on the few really interesting ones.Spray and pray is -EV.Simply ignoring ICOs altogether is not a successful strategy either, as there are still some very promising projects out there.But you gotta protect your capitalwale.moca 🐳 (@waleswoosh):There is a non-zero chance that ICOs end up similar to h ...

There are still fun things to to, ICOs, prediction markets, but it's different ...

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Rounds Risks - The industry observes that teams may view investors as exit liquidity, potentially leading to scams [1] - The industry highlights the risk of significant losses, citing an example where a token's value dropped by 95% shortly after launch [2] - The industry notes the potential for ICOs to mirror the negative outcomes seen in KOL rounds [2] Past Experiences and Lessons Learned - Early successes in KOL rounds led to widespread FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) into unproven projects [3] - The industry experienced substantial financial losses in KOL rounds due to delays, rug pulls, or project abandonment, with losses reaching high five-figures [3] Due Diligence and Caution - The industry emphasizes the importance of caution and thorough due diligence when dealing with founders, especially anonymous ones [2] - The industry advises investors to be wary of deals, even from individuals with whom they have long-standing relationships [2]

There is a non-zero chance that ICOs end up similar to how KOL rounds ended up.We had some big Ws early on.This led to everyone (myself included) FOMOing into hyped vaporware rounds.I lost high five-figures in KOL rounds that were delayed by a year or more, rugged, or simply went to zero.I think we are still sufficiently early to ICOs, but the deals will get worse going into 2026 as participation is becoming consensus now.And I'm starting to see similar patterns to those that made me and friends burn money ...