A token sale fills in hours, oversubscribed and celebrated across crypto Twitter. Six months later, the token trades below what buyers paid, and the venue has moved on to its next sale.
This is now the norm. Of five major launchpads in an April 2026 benchmark, four sat below 1x on recent returns, so their sales returned less than buyers paid, on average. Crypto launchpads still sell themselves on early access and a fast raise. That’s the brochure, not the decision.
The decision belongs to the founder choosing where to sell a token, ideally with a raise plan from our guide to crypto fundraising marketing. The choice also matters to buyers who want the numbers that directories bury behind all-time-high returns. Anyone hunting for a token tip is in the wrong place.
This guide covers how launchpads work, what their sales actually returned, how to choose one, and which ones deliver in 2026, including the only launchpad still above 1x.
