Millions

Million

Jan 22nd — A decentralized leveraged prediction market project stirred up controversy in its latest ICO round, after originally targeting $2.5 million in funding but ultimately raising $20 million. The project team later clarified the $2.5 million was a "soft cap" (not a hard cap)—a disclosure in line with standard Launchpad practices—allowing it to expand fundraising amid strong market demand. The team noted $2.5 million would only cover "initial development for a few months" and was insufficient to sustain multi-year development of leveraged prediction market infrastructure. Per the team’s disclosures, it plans to hold roughly $13 million of the overraised funds (with a fully diluted valuation, or FDV, of approximately $69 million), while the remainder is earmarked for liquidity, ecosystem growth, and market-related efforts. However, the explanation failed to ease doubts. Ethos CEO Serpin Taxt called the project’s actions—raising a "nominal $2.5 million, actual $20 million, and holding around $14 million"—malicious, comparing it to the previously criticized Trove project. Community discussions argue this incident again lays bare structural flaws in some ICOs, including gaps in information disclosure, fundraising cap design, and fund utilization transparency.

Space Public Sale Sparks Controversy: $2.5 Million Target Actually Overraised 8x, Team Attempts to Retain Millions

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