Kraken has introduced a new initial coin offering platform dubbed Kraken Launch in partnership with Legion which operates a crypto native fundraising platform.

According to the Sep. 18 announcement, Kraken Launch will serve as a launchpad for early-stage token sales that offers vetted crypto projects a direct path to market through the exchange’s global user base.

As a part of this “exclusive partnership,” Legion will share its highest-profile token sales with Kraken Launch, allowing the exchange’s users to participate in initial offerings that would otherwise be limited to niche on-chain communities. 

These projects will also be listed on Kraken for secondary trading shortly after the sales conclude, expanding liquidity and investor access.

While Legion will continue to host smaller, earlier-stage sales independently, the bigger token sales, defined by larger funding targets and bigger communities, will be jointly deployed across both platforms.

Each token sale will reserve up to 20% of its allocation for Legion Score holders, a platform native reward structure designed to enhance value for long-term crypto contributors based on their onchain history, GitHub commits, and social engagement. 

The remaining tokens will be made available to the public on a first-come, first-served basis across Kraken and Legion.

Both companies will share the revenue generated from transaction fees from the ICO and the subsequent trading activity on Kraken’s spot platform.

When the ICO hype initially began to take shape back around 2017–2018, fundraising campaigns were often hastily launched with little more than a flashy website and an ambitious whitepaper. 

While the model promised open access and decentralization, the lack of guardrails quickly made ICOs fertile ground for scams, pump-and-dump schemes, and projects that disappeared as quickly as they launched.

Billions of funds were lost to ICO scams that disappeared as quickly as they surfaced, and that drew in a lot of heat from regulators, especially in major markets like the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia, where authorities began scrutinising token sales as potential securities offerings.

When the ICO bubble popped, what was left behind was a battered reputation for ICOs and a wary investor base. 

Alongside investors, regulatory uncertainty and the absence of standardized disclosures meant that projects that actually had a vision and a product also struggled to find credible channels to raise capital.

Compared to those days, the regulatory environment is significantly mature with frameworks like Europe’s MiCA setting the foundation for a safer and more compliant market.

Platforms like Legion and Kraken Launch are now attempting to bridge the gap between speed and compliance, combining the best of the ICO model with the guardrails of traditional markets.

Kraken Launch, according to the exchange, aims to raise the bar for such token launches by offering a regulated and secure platform that operates with complete transparency.

“Together with Legion, we’re scaling a product that democratizes token sales and aligns communities with builders,” Kraken’s Head of Payments and Blockchain Brett McLain, was quoted as saying.

“It’s not just better fundraising, it’s better infrastructure for the next generation of finance.”

Looking ahead, Legion has plans to work with multiple exchanges, and the company has enaged in discussions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s crypto task force in anticipation of opening sales to American users by the end of 2025.

Among other things in its product pipeline are automated compliance tools, sell-side research features, and liquidity provisioning options, as it hopes to become the default platform for institutional-grade token sales, the announcement said.

Kraken, on the other hand, has been busy when it comes to expanding its suite of services as it is looking forward to a potential public listing, expected as early as Q1 2026.

Earlier this month, the exchange acquired proprietary trading firm Breakout and rolled out tokenized equity products in the EU via its xStock platform.

In the meantime, it has emerged as a leading contender in the derivatives market via its NinjaTrader platform.

Elsewhere Kraken is working with stablecoin issuer Circle to introduce a euro-pegged EURC stablecoin on its platform.

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