The NEAR ecosystem continues to expand and diversify rapidly as projects discover the efficiency of NEAR’s user-friendly and infinitely scalable blockchain. However, every project, whether NFT or startup, token-based or not, needs the right push to get it started, and the NEAR ecosystem has just the thing for them, launchpads.
A launchpad is a blockchain-based platform that helps startups and crypto-related projects launch on a blockchain. Launchpads can be:
- IDO-specific, focusing on tokenomics such as Initial DEX Offerings (IDO), pre-sales, and price discovery.
- Project-specific, concerning with building the project’s foundation, such as marketing strategy, smart contract, and integrations.
Beyond helping your project carve out its place in the ecosystem, launchpads are necessary for investors as a discovery tool for new projects, making them an essential bridge between investors and projects.
Launchpads on NEAR
There are numerous launchpads on the NEAR ecosystem. Although they operate in a similar fashion, each launchpad caters to specific needs and presents its unique value proposition. By pointing out their differences we aim to provide guidance to startups and invests looking for the platform that best suits their needs.
Boca Chica (Mars Edition)
Built by the HAPI team, Boca Chica Mars Edition is an IDO platform that focuses on venture funding by offering immediate fundraising opportunities to NEAR-based projects via retail and capital investors.
Boca Chica ensures fair IDOs by using a token-less structure that allows investors to use a stablecoin like USDT instead of only the platform’s native token to participate in IDOs. They also leverage NEAR’s scalability, predictable price model, and adoption-oriented and user-friendly platform to guarantee safe and frictionless IDOs.
Boca Chica IDOs have two rounds:
- A HAPI round, which is exclusively for HAPI token holders on NEAR.
- AN IDO round, which is open to the public. Due to Boca Chica’s token-less structure, investors can use USDT to participate in the sale.
Boca Chica also has generous incentives for NEAR validators that help secure its transactions and stakers in those validators.
Skyward Finance
Skyward is a NEAR-native platform for price discovery and fair token distribution for NEAR-native projects.
In early initial offerings on centralised exchanges, an individual could easily create multiple accounts and pass them as distinct, to buy a large quantity of the tokens (Sybil attacks) or use front-running bots. Also, most of these sales were at a fixed cost, which made them unfair and unavailable to some, if not to most of the community. Skyward solves these challenges through a mechanism for clear price discovery and distribution of tokens via a unique model known as streaming time-based auctions. Instead of using a simple, immediate token auction model that can have its price drastically affected by last-minute entrants or could easily be attacked by front-running bots, Skyward breaks down the auction into multiple even auctions over the sale duration. This makes price discovery quick and easy and allows investors more control over their investment and participation in the sale.
Launchpads on Aurora
These launchpads leverage Aurora’s EVM compatibility to facilitate interoperable cross-chain projects and support ERC20-based tokens.
SmartPad
SmartPad is taking the launchpad use case one step further by being the first multi cross-chain launchpad.
Taking advantage of NEAR’s Aurora EVM, SmartPad brings IDOs from other networks such as Polygon and Ethereum to NEAR users while also giving users of those chains similar access to NEAR-based IDOs.
For investors with multiple portfolios, having to switch and connect can be hard and time-consuming. SmartPad, while it makes it easy for investors to access multiple IDOs on a single platform, it also allows project owners to raise more money by having users from other networks join their offering.
In addition, SmartPad allows the creation of customisable pools post-launch and offers staking opportunities for holders of the platform’s native token (PAD).
Pad.FI (Formerly NearPAD)
Built on Aurora, Pad.Fi is an IDO launchpad described as “a one-stop-shop bridging disruptor” that vets and allows startups to launch crowdfunding events through token sales. On the other hand, this means bringing secure and vetted opportunities to the community on NEAR. Leveraging NEAR’s interoperability and cheap transaction fees, coupled with Aurora’s bridging, Pad.Fi highlights accessibility for community members and investors with portfolios from Ethereum and other chains. Beyond the launchpad, Pad.Fi adds another layer with a DEX aggregator, which gives users and investors the possibility of immediately maximising their portfolio’s potential.
Pad.Fi pushes to be more than “just a launchpad”, and more of THE DeFi hub for the NEAR ecosystem.
Coming soon
Gonear
A NEAR-native platform built on Aurora, Gonear is an IDO platform that helps new projects raise capital and activate their tokenomics through auctions and token pools.
Operating on the Aurora EVM, Gonear primarily focuses on ERC20-compliant projects and aims to solve the “apeing” problem–where investors increased gas prices and bought tokens at low prices during the IDO, to sell later at higher prices. Coupled with escalating network fees on Ethereum, arbitrary price adjustments by Automated Market Makers (AMM) during swaps, and poor user interface, IDOs became expensive and slow. Leveraging NEAR’s infinite scalability, usability, high throughput, and a fixed swap model, Gonear brings back cheap, secure, and super fast IDO transactions to ERC20-compliant projects with a slick user interface as a bonus.
Gonear’s selection of projects is a rigorous four-step process that aims to filter in only the highest quality projects. Overseen by analysts and Gonear’s nine-man council, every project goes through an initial application, preliminary due diligence, and direct assessment before final onboarding approval.
NEAR Starter
NEAR Starter is an IDO launchpad for projects looking to upstart on NEAR. Built by the FMFW team, the platform will leverage the already-existing large userbase of investors and community of FMFW to power IDOs, after the projects have been vetted and incubated by FMFW’s experienced team.
New Order
Built on Aurora, New Order is the pioneer DAO-owned launchpad for innovative chain-agnostic Web3 financial products and projects. These projects must align with the vision of a fully composable financial ecosystem with multi-chain DeFi at its core. The platform will provide:
- Token design and protocol architecture services
- Fundraising
- Networking
- Growth opportunities
- Development and security services
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