The Internet Capital Markets (ICM) tokens have flooded the market lately

Businesses and developers have launched around 12,000 app tokens in the past three days, leaving investors scrambling to keep up.

The Internet Capital Markets (ICM) tokens have been flooding the market lately, as businesses and developers have launched around 12,000 app tokens in the past three days. With this rapid surge, investors are scrambling to keep up and might need some help sorting through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Amid the chaos, one expert has argued that these tokens actually represent Attention Capital Markets (ACM) and not Internet Capital Markets, and he also outlined strategies for capitalizing on the meta’s potential and highlighting its long-term opportunities.

6 Factors to Assess Internet Capital Markets Tokens

Breaking down the subject in a recent post on X, Yash Agarwal, co-founder of SendAI, explained that the Internet Capital Markets imply real ownership of equity through tokens on the blockchain.

However, the recent app token launches on Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) via the Believe (ADJ) app don’t necessarily have any inherent equity value. Instead, they are better described as attention tokens.

“No equity value — apps don't have direct token integrations, and token holders don't have claim to any revenue. it's an attention token — and that's fine!,” Agarwal stated bluntly.

This clarity is useful for buyers, who can assess an app’s, and its token’s, potential by considering how much attention it is likely to get.

“Attention = volumes = revenues (they're inherently incentivized to chase frothy narratives (like ai agents) to drive speculation),” Agarwal added.

In addition to this key factor, Agarwal recommended considering several other attributes when evaluating an app token:

Also highlighting the importance of rational investment behavior, DeFi Mars, an on-chain analyst, urged the ICM community to focus on meaningful projects and strong teams.

"Leave the copy-paste coins behind because in the new era of Internet Capital Markets, only quality survives!!," Mars wrote.

The ease of token creation on the Believe app wasn't meant to be used to fuel the meme coin craze, but rather as part of a broader vision for Internet Capital Markets, he added.

"These aren't just memes—they're building something and the market is rewarding that."

Another analyst, Miya, pointed out that the Believe app—which was originally designed to serve as a replacement for traditional venture capital by enabling token-backed startup funding—is being misused.

The core idea of the Believe app is to build “network spirituality,” encouraging users to promote startups, grow user bases, and thereby increase token value.

However, in the real world scenario, the platform has become a breeding ground for meme coins, which ultimately dilutes liquidity and undermines the essence of the Believe app, Miya said.

"I think we need to get to a point where Solana (or Believe) breaks free from all the low-quality slop meme coin trading and enters into a new stage, back to utility projects," Miya stated.

The Future of Internet Capital Markets

Moreover, in addition to the evaluation factors, Agarwal also predicted several upcoming developments in this sector. Most importantly, on-chain equity will become a reality.

In this case, owning tokens would directly translate to owning equity in the app at launch—a true embodiment of ICM.

"AI. It'll accelerate this meta a lot — is a huge tailwind and timing couldn't have been better," Agarwal asserted.

Furthermore, launchpads will remain open and accessible to all. Nonetheless, specialized frontends will emerge to filter quality projects, with tiers forming based on user adoption and curation.

Finally, Agarwal highlighted the growing opportunity for research firms and newsletters to provide high-quality, independent research on liquid tokens, similar to the offerings in equity markets. These organizations could also issue ratings for tokens, guiding retail investors in their investment decisions.

While Agarwal’s predictions about Internet Capital Markets may yet come to pass, only time will tell whether this narrative will continue to gain traction or ultimately fade as the market matures.