$5M Bet That ICOs Deserve a Second Chance — Meet Legion

The days of flashy token sales, billion-dollar raises, and inevitable rug pulls might feel like a relic of the 2017 crypto boom, but one startup thinks the ICO model still has a future, done differently.

Legion, a new crypto platform co-founded by Fabrizio Giabardo and Matt O’Connor, has secured $5 million in seed funding with the goal of giving token sales a second life, while keeping fraud and confusion out of the picture.

A new spin on an old model

ICOs, or initial coin offerings, were once the fastest way for crypto startups to raise money. Some, like Ethereum’s 2014 sale, went on to reshape the industry.

Others ended badly, with founders vanishing after collecting millions from unsuspecting buyers. Regulators eventually tightened the rules, pushing ICOs out of the spotlight.

Legion’s pitch is to reintroduce ICOs but layer them with standards similar to those in traditional finance. “Just think IPO-type rigor, IPO-type access, mixing in with crypto rails,” Giabardo explained in a recent interview.

The platform is designed to comply with the European Union’s new framework for early token launches, which requires projects to publish white papers outlining risks and to update them as circumstances change.

Backing for the $5 million seed round came from major names including VanEck, Brevan Howard Digital, and the venture arms of Coinbase, Crypto.com, and crypto exchange Kraken. The round was structured as equity and token warrants, with the founders keeping the valuation undisclosed.

Why ICOs are coming back

Legion isn’t the only team betting on the return of token sales. Over the past few months, the stablecoin project Plasma raised $500 million in five minutes, while memecoin platform Pump.fun attracted $600 million in just 12 minutes. Even crypto influencer Cobie has launched Sonar, his own ICO platform.

Part of the renewed interest comes from a changing policy space. In the U.S., the Trump administration has signaled a softer regulatory approach than that of former President Biden, which has encouraged firms to revisit American markets after years of SEC crackdowns.

Giabardo and O’Connor, both veterans of the crypto and finance sectors, say their aim is not just to open the fundraising floodgates but to ensure buyers know what they’re getting into.

O’Connor has even discussed disclosure standards directly with the SEC, suggesting requirements for simple, transparent explanations that retail traders can actually understand before committing funds.

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