In 2017, the ICO era emerged, with public fundraising directly replacing venture capital and private equity, leading to a bull market dominated by original platforms and proxy investments. Profit was easily attainable by securing a share. By 2021, the rise of DeFi brought market diversification and dispersion, with profits achievable through quick actions. During this period, IEOs allowed project teams to release shares to users at low initial prices, making buying new tokens more attractive than old ones.
Currently, IEOs face legal risks in many countries and are limited to airdrops and market pricing. This shift means projects with large circulation and low opening prices, like BB and Lista, perform steadily but lack the thorough cleansing process seen in 2021.
The 2024 market rise, driven by BTC ETFs, is marked by significant involvement from prominent projects and Lumao Studio. This synergy has led to impressive data, with project teams securing substantial funding from VCs, who have billion-dollar assets, driving up valuations of quality projects. Confidence is high among projects with substantial funding and user bases, with millions of users on the chain and numerous platforms available, from CEXs to DEXs.
Trading platforms now lack pricing power, so evaluating projects with high valuations should focus on fundamentals and circulation, not just market value. Currently, the conflict between Lumao Studio and L2 projects has become a spectacle, signaling a possible end to the Lumao era. Both primary and secondary markets now feature more professional players using tools to hedge risks, expanding the market size. For ordinary investors, the strategies from 2017 ICOs, 2021 IEOs, nesting dolls, and 2023 approaches may not be applicable in today's market.
A healthier market might have fewer VC investments and project parties. In each cycle, some projects survive the bull and bear markets, while many top-tier projects fail. Whether in web2 or web3, successful startups are rare, and those that bridge the gap and endure cycles are even rarer.
