Public token sales just had their worst quarter since 2020 — and May basically ghosted everyone 📉

Crypto public token sales are on track for their weakest quarter in five years, with just $58 million raised across Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs), Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs) in Q2 2026, according to CryptoRank. The figure marks an 85% drop from the prior quarter and reflects a sharp decline in capital moving through public token fundraising channels.

The number of public sales fell to 37 in Q2, down 65% from 105 in Q1. May was the slowest stretch, with only 13 token sales closing during the month, the lowest monthly figure since late 2020, when just 4 sales occurred. The $58 million raised is the smallest quarterly haul in CryptoRank's dataset. "After peaking in Q1'25 with nearly $849M raised across 429 sales, the public fundraising market has been steadily losing momentum," the firm wrote.

Year-over-year comparisons underline the slide. Q2 2025 raised $135 million, and Q2 2024 drew $375 million, putting Q2 2026 down 57% from a year earlier and 85% from two years earlier. Sales counts fell even faster, dropping from 576 in Q2 2024 and 255 in Q2 2025 to just 37 this quarter. The decline has also run sequentially, with raises falling from $482 million in Q4 2025 to $390 million in Q1 2026 and $58 million in Q2.

IDOs remained the dominant fundraising format, accounting for 68.6% of public sales in 2026. IEOs made up 19.9%, and ICOs accounted for the remaining 11.5%. Disclosed fundraising has reached $4 billion across 3,017 sales since the start of 2024. With Q2 still quarter-to-date, CryptoRank noted the final tally could shift, though it currently sits at a multi-year low.