IDO
Initial DEX Offering. A token launch mechanism where the initial sale happens directly on a decentralised exchange, with built-in liquidity pool funding. IDOs replaced ICOs as the standard launch model for many projects after 2018.
Also known as: Initial DEX Offering
IDOs solved a structural problem with ICOs. ICOs sold tokens then disappeared with the cash, leaving buyers with tokens they couldn’t easily trade. IDOs launch the token directly on a DEX and use the sale proceeds to seed an initial liquidity pool, so the token is immediately tradeable on a public market with real (if shallow) depth. This means buyers can exit if they want to, which limits some of the rug-pull risk that plagued ICOs.
The mechanics vary by launch platform. Polkastarter, DAO Maker, and similar IDO platforms let projects pre-sell allocations to whitelisted buyers before opening the public sale. The whitelist is usually based on holding the platform’s own token or completing community tasks. After the whitelist round, public buyers can participate in a limited public sale, then the token launches on a DEX with a portion of the raise added as initial liquidity. The remaining raise funds the project’s operations.
The good IDOs build real launches with sensible vesting and proportionate liquidity. The bad ones are barely-disguised exit liquidity events where the team and early buyers dump on retail in the first few hours of trading. The signal-to-noise ratio for IDOs is roughly the same as ICOs: most are scams or low-quality projects, a small minority are real businesses with credible distributions. The presence of an IDO mechanism doesn’t make a project legitimate.
In DeAI specifically, IDOs are less common than airdrops or fair launches. Most credible DeAI projects in 2026 prefer to distribute tokens to existing users (airdrop) or just launch on a DEX with no pre-sale. Sahara, IO.net, and a few other DeAI projects used IDOs as part of their launch process, usually combined with other distribution mechanisms. The OYM project reviews note when an IDO was part of the initial distribution and whether the structure was credible or extractive.