Ben Pasternak, the visionary behind Believe.app, is one of several betting on a future where startups won’t need to go through Sand Hill Road to begin with. He envisions a future of real “Internet Capital Markets.” Here’s how it works. In this utopian vision, developers wouldn’t just submit a glossy deck to you, the eager crypto investor. Are we witnessing a revolt against the Old Guard of venture capital? Or rather the latter, a high-stakes gamble built on the notoriously volatile world of DeFi.

Democratizing Funding: Or Just Risky?

The allure is undeniable. Look forward to being part of the next big thing from the ground floor. This movement is fueled by the collective passion of the internet, not by gatekeepers from Wall St. venture capitalists. Believe.app is built on this very premise. Developers release bonding curves, investors buy in—often pre-funding development of the project on the basis of… well, faith. LaunchCoin, the platform’s native token, has a huge market cap. Success stories such as $Noodle and more recently $Goonc — a Dogecoin-like memecoin — only add to the anticipation. Let's not get carried away.

This isn't some feel-good, everyone-wins scenario. It's investing. But investing, particularly in the hyper-speculative, try-your-luck world of crypto, is dangerous. Big ones. Those all-time highs? They're often followed by stomach-churning dips. The issue with a system predicated on “belief” is that belief can be capricious. One bad tweet, one competitor launch, one regulatory scare, and that belief can evaporate faster than you can say "rug pull."

Think of it like this: it's the Kickstarter model on steroids, injected with the volatility of crypto, and seasoned with the potential for massive gains (and equally massive losses).

Solana's Role: Savior or Achilles Heel?

Solana’s making a huge bet on tokenized equities, even going so far as to say it could one day process all of NASDAQ’s daily volume. Ambitious, to say the least. And overdue, because Believe.app and LaunchCoin are stretching Solana’s infrastructure and creating a real pressure test. Quite frankly, the escalating congestion that we’re witnessing on Solana is a warning sign written in all capital letters.

Enter Solaxy, a Layer-2 solutions that all but promises to erase these problems. And judging by a successful $34.1 million presale, there’s no doubt that there’s demand for the solution that fills that gap. But Layer-2 solutions are not silver bullets. They increase complexity, and they bring their own set of risks. Will Solaxy ultimately address Solana’s congestion issues, or will it merely enforce an additional layer of possible collapse?

  • High transaction fees: During peak activity, fees can skyrocket, making small transactions uneconomical.
  • Failed transactions: Congestion leads to failed transactions, frustrating users and potentially causing them to miss out on investment opportunities.
  • Scalability limitations: Solana's theoretical throughput is often far from its actual performance under heavy load.

Think of Solana as a high-speed highway. Believe.app and LaunchCoin are just continuing to stack more cars (transactions) onto that highway. Congestion is inevitable. Solaxy introduces a whole new lane of work to our practice, deepening our expertise. That lane needs constant upkeep, has its own entrance and exit ramps, and it would be susceptible to backup as well.

The @launchcoin X account is intriguing. Literally anyone can whip up a coin just by announcing the account and what they plan on calling the coin. This is radical decentralization. It's a recipe for potential chaos.

The LaunchCoin X Experiment: Genius or Chaos?

That increases innovation and creativity by lowering the barrier to entry for new projects. On the flip side, it opens the floodgates for scams, pump-and-dump schemes and outright fraud. Consider the immense number of coins being released, most likely having nothing or almost nothing in terms of substance behind them. It's a wild west scenario.

This raises a fundamental question: Is this truly empowering individuals, or is it simply creating a playground for scammers and whales to prey on unsuspecting retail investors?

So it’s easy to get swept away by the fanfare. The promise of democratized funding, vote-for-me-rainbows, glamor of the early-stage investment, prospect of outsized returns… it’s all extraordinarily seductive. Before you dive in, take a step back and ask yourself: Am I investing based on genuine belief in the project, or am I just chasing the next pump?

  • Increased Access
  • Rapid Innovation

LaunchCoin and Believe.app are actually a pretty dramatic experiment. It can be the tool that revolutionizes venture capital, or it can be a cautionary tale. Only time will tell. One thing is certain: caveat emptor. Study, know your risks, and invest wisely. Your financial future depends on it.

  • Scams
  • Market Manipulation

The Ugly:

  • Complete Financial Ruin

This raises a fundamental question: Is this truly empowering individuals, or is it simply creating a playground for scammers and whales to prey on unsuspecting retail investors?

It's easy to get caught up in the hype. The promise of democratized funding, the allure of early-stage investment, the potential for outsized returns... it's all incredibly seductive. But before you dive in, take a step back and ask yourself: Am I investing based on genuine belief in the project, or am I just chasing the next pump?

The truth is, LaunchCoin and Believe.app represent a bold experiment. It could revolutionize venture capital, or it could become a cautionary tale. Only time will tell. But one thing is certain: caveat emptor. Do your research, understand the risks, and invest responsibly. Your financial future depends on it.