A crypto launchpad is a platform that runs a new project's first token sale. It lets early buyers get tokens at a fixed price before the tokens trade anywhere else, and it gives the project money and an audience. Some launchpads are run by trading platforms, which is known as an initial exchange offering (IEO). Others are smart contracts that anyone can connect a wallet to, which is known as an initial DEX offering (IDO). Either way the buyer gets the same thing: an early, unlisted token. Regulators have long said such tokens can be securities, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now working on a dedicated rulebook for them.
The newest development: the SEC's proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets" (18 August 2026)
On 18 August 2026 the SEC proposed "Regulation Crypto Assets" (press release 2026-76, file number S7-2026-27). The proposal has not been adopted. It includes:
- Two exemptions from Securities Act registration. The first is a one-time exemption for offerings of up to $5 million over a four-year period. The second allows offerings of up to $75 million in each 12-month period. Both require issuers to give investors "principles-based narrative disclosures". The second also requires financial statements and ongoing reporting.
- A conditional safe harbor from the "investment contract" element of the definition of a security. In Chairman Paul Atkins's words, it would apply once an issuer has "completed or permanently ceased all essential managerial efforts" it promised. The full conditions are in the proposing release.
- A 60-day comment period that starts when the release is published in the Federal Register.
The proposal grew out of a speech Atkins gave on 12 November 2025 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. In it he set out his own view, not a Commission decision, of four kinds of token. Three of them he said are not securities: "digital commodities" or "network tokens", "digital collectibles" and "digital tools". The fourth, "tokenized securities", he said remain securities.
For launchpad buyers, this means the US legal status of a token sale may change. Until a final rule is adopted, the existing guidance below still applies.
How a launchpad sale works
The details depend on the platform, but most sales follow the same steps:
- The project applies and the platform screens it. Trading platforms often say they do due diligence on the projects they list. The SEC's IEO alert notes that platforms "may also claim to perform due diligence or other quality assessments". That is a claim by the platform, not a guarantee.
- Buyers qualify. Many launchpads limit who can buy. They may use an allowlist, identity checks, a lottery, or tiers based on how many of the platform's own tokens a buyer holds or stakes.
- The sale runs at a set price. One common on-chain format is a fixed-price pool. One launchpad's documentation describes it as "a swap pool with a fixed purchase price for tokens", where the price stays the same "until the initial supply runs out".
- Tokens are distributed and trading begins. The sale terms decide when buyers receive their tokens. Some tokens are released at once and others over time. Once the token lists, its price is set by the market and can fall below the sale price.
What projects get from a launchpad
- Money raised from the token sale
- Access to the platform's existing users
- Marketing around the launch
- A token that is already in many wallets when trading opens
ICO vs IEO vs IDO
| Model | Who sells the tokens | Where buyers take part |
|---|---|---|
| ICO (initial coin offering) | The project itself | The project's own website or smart contract |
| IEO (initial exchange offering) | A trading platform, on the project's behalf | An account on that platform |
| IDO (initial DEX offering) | A smart contract on a launchpad or decentralised exchange | A self-custody wallet |
The SEC's January 2020 investor alert describes IEOs as essentially ICOs. In its words, "rather than being sold directly to investors by ICO projects themselves, IEO's are sold by trading platforms where they can also be traded." The alert adds that these platforms "are typically not registered with the SEC" and "may improperly refer to themselves as 'exchanges'".
The earlier version of this article said ICOs were "more established", "more heavily regulated" and raised more money than IDOs. None of this was supported, so we removed it. How a sale is sold does not decide whether securities law applies. The facts of the offering do.
Does MiCA's Article 4 white paper rule cover your EU token offer?
Answer four questions about a public token offer in the EU to see whether Article 4's white paper duty applies or one of the Article 4(2) exemptions fits.
Is the crypto-asset being offered an asset-referenced token or an e-money token?
Is the offer made only to qualified investors?
Is the offer made to fewer than 150 people per Member State?
Will the total raised in the Union exceed EUR 1,000,000 over 12 months?
Article 4 covers crypto-assets other than asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. MiCA deals with those in its separate stablecoin titles, Titles III and IV, which have applied since 30 June 2024.
Article 4(2) exempts offers to fewer than 150 people per Member State, offers that raise no more than EUR 1,000,000 in the Union over 12 months, and offers made only to qualified investors. Read the exact wording of Article 4 before relying on an exemption.
The offeror must be a legal person and must draw up, notify and publish a crypto-asset white paper. If the token gives access to goods or services not yet in operation, the offer cannot last longer than 12 months from the date the white paper is published (Article 4(6)).
This follows only the MiCA Article 4 points described in the article. It is not legal advice, does not cover US rules or the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, and cannot tell whether a particular token is an asset-referenced or e-money token.
What regulators have said
United States
- 25 July 2017: The SEC's Report of Investigation found that tokens sold by The DAO were "securities and therefore subject to the federal securities laws".
- 11 December 2017: Then-Chairman Jay Clayton wrote that "merely calling a token a 'utility' token… does not prevent the token from being a security". He suggested buyers ask: "Who exactly am I contracting with?", "Where is my money going and what will it be used for?", "What specific rights come with my investment?" and "How, when, and at what cost can I sell my investment?"
- 14 January 2020: The SEC's investor alert on IEOs called it "a red flag if the IEO and its participants, including the online trading platform, do not address or discuss the applicability of the federal securities laws."
- 2025–2026: The token categories from Atkins's speech and the proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, described above.
European Union
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA, Regulation (EU) 2023/1114) has applied from 30 December 2024. Its stablecoin titles, Titles III and IV, applied earlier, from 30 June 2024. Under Article 4, anyone making a public offer in the EU of a crypto-asset that is not an asset-referenced token or an e-money token must be a legal person. They must also draw up, notify and publish a crypto-asset white paper.
Article 4(2) exempts three kinds of offer:
- offers to fewer than 150 people per Member State
- offers where the total raised in the Union does not exceed EUR 1,000,000 over 12 months
- offers made only to qualified investors
For utility tokens that give access to goods or services not yet in operation, the offer cannot last longer than 12 months from the date the white paper is published (Article 4(6)).
A naming trap: the Ethereum Staking Launchpad
The "Ethereum launchpad" is not a token-sale platform, although the earlier version of this article described it as one. The Staking Launchpad is, in ethereum.org's words, "an open source application that will help you become a staker". It guides users through choosing clients, generating keys and depositing ETH into the staking deposit contract. A validator needs a deposit of "32 ETH minimum, up to 2048 ETH per validator". Nothing is sold to the public through it.
Before joining any token sale
These checks come from the SEC's published guidance. They are not investment advice.
- Find out who the legal issuer is and where it is based.
- Read what the white paper (or MiCA white paper, in the EU) says about how the money will be used and what rights the token gives.
- Check whether the sale or the platform says anything about securities law. The SEC calls silence on this a red flag.
- Read the release schedule so you know when you can sell, and at what cost.
- Be wary of guaranteed returns and pressure to act fast. Clayton's statement lists both as warning signs.
Limitations: this article covers US and EU rules only. Regulation Crypto Assets is a proposal and may change before adoption.
