Former Binance exec and now VC launches ICO platform BuidlPad

Erick Zhang, managing partner at Nomad Capital and former Binance head of research and Binance Launchpad lead, has launched a new initial coin offering (ICO) platform, BuidlPad.

The announcement was made during The Block and Foresight Ventures' inaugural conference, Emergence, on Thursday. Last week, Zhang had indicated to The Block that he was preparing to launch the platform amid a resurgence in interest in ICOs. Zhang today said that ICOs are a "powerful" way for founders to build engaged and loyal communities where everyone has a stake in the project's success.

"I've also had discussions with numerous project founders, and the consensus is clear — there is a strong demand for a new ICO platform," he said.

Renewed interest in ICOs, as reported by The Block last week, is being driven by factors such as pro-crypto U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, dissatisfaction among retail investors over paying high prices compared to venture capital investors and poor user retention from token airdrop campaigns, industry experts said at the time. Zhang echoed these views, highlighting community frustrations with inflated valuations and the underperformance of VC-backed tokens. The current VC model of fundraising "favors the wealthy," Zhang said, emphasizing that ICOs offer retail investors a chance to invest in tokens at earlier and lower valuations, avoiding the inflated "20x of the seed price when they finally get listed."

Drawing experiences from Binance Launchpad

During his tenure at Binance leading the crypto exchange's token launch platform Launchpad, Zhang said he oversaw the launch of over 20 ICOs, including major projects like BitTorrent, Polygon and Axie Infinity, helping them collectively raise over $100 million. Drawing from these experiences, he said, "I have incorporated lessons from past ICOs into the design of BuidlPad, focusing on transparency and fair distribution." Zhang said that the ICO platform would employ a "meticulous" vetting process to select only top-quality projects with viable business models and strong execution, ensuring value for investors.

Participation on BuidlPad will require users to complete know-your-customer (KYC) checks, and residents from restricted regions, including the U.S. and China, will be excluded from participating in ICO sales conducted through the platform.

The launch of BuidlPad comes just months after the introduction of Legion, a "merit-based" ICO platform incubated by Delphi Labs, in August. Last week, Legion conducted its first ICO sale for Pulse, a DePIN project focused on health data collection. Matt O'Connor, co-founder of Legion, told The Block at the time that the platform is planning weekly ICO sales through the remainder of the year, with an increase in frequency expected next year.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, prominent crypto trader Jordan Fish, known as Cobie, launched an angel investing platform in beta. According to Cobie's post on X (formerly Twitter) dated Nov. 27, the platform has already helped projects raise around $30 million to date.

Although ICOs present significant opportunities for retail investors, the role of quality venture capitalists remains vital. As Jed Breed, founder and general partner of Breed VC and former head of digital assets at Circle, told The Block last week, "I think having a combination of retail investors through ICOs and VC investors is the best outcome."

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