Binance Labs-backed Magic Square announced the launch of its new initial DEX offering (IDO) platform.
The new crowdfunding platform is built on a decentralized exchange (DEX) and aims to democratize retail access for Web3 investors with limited funds, according to Michael Landsberger, the chief operating officer of Magic Square.
Magic Launchpad achieves this through unique allocation strategies that equally favor users with fewer funds by taking into consideration factors like user activity and ecosystem contributions. Landsberger told Cointelegraph:
“This inclusive approach ensures that more community members can participate, rather than limiting opportunities to a select few, which are usually the ones that are more wealthy than others.”
Users wishing to participate in investment rounds first need to stake Magic Square (SQR) tokens to earn SQR points, which will determine their allocation size for some projects requiring participation points.
Users can also stack points by participating in the “Road-to-IDO” campaign before every project’s IDO launch, which rewards users based on their activity within the new protocol’s community.
The new platform aims to offer more than just financial support for emerging Web3 protocols, such as post-IDO and community-building support, explained Landsberger:
“We believe that an IDO should be more than just a fundraising mechanism. If the focus is solely on raising money, the real potential of the IDO is missed. Our approach views the IDO as a powerful tool to build a strong community and user base, ensuring long-term project success rather than just securing operational funds.”
Magic Square claims to be the first community-driven Web3 app store aiming to tackle user acquisition and engagement challenges. The project has over 4.5 million registered users and over 1,300 applications listed on its platform.
Landsberger attributes the protocol’s popularity to its focus on organic growth and quality partnerships. He said:
“We’ve built strong partnerships and consistently provided significant value to both projects and users within our ecosystem. This dual approach of leveraging high-quality partnerships and delivering genuine value has been crucial in achieving our current growth and will continue to drive our success moving forward.”
Related: Binance develops ‘antidote’ to address poisoning scams after $68M exploit
IDOs are becoming a popular funding source for crypto protocols
Magic Square is joining the rapidly growing industry of decentralized crowdfunding, as the latest emerging protocol.
There are already 109 IDO launchpads on the market, with the largest one, DAO Maker, worth over $2 billion in the summary market cap, which measures all the projects that raised funds on the platform.
Oxbull remains the dominant IDO launchpad in terms of investor returns. Founded in 2021, the protocol has an average return on investment (ROI) of over ninefold, compared to the second-most profitable one, ApeTerminal, which averages an over sevenfold ROI, according to CryptoRank data.
Oxbull launchpad returns. Source: Cryptorank
IDOs are becoming a popular way for protocols to raise funds. At the beginning of April, the Bitcoin-native MerlinSwap DEX raised 6,599 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $480 million during its IDO, which attracted over 52,000 participants.
Related: Crypto trader turns $3K into $46M in one month as PEPE price soars
