ICO project log 02: how to fix distribution
How do you distribute a token without becoming part of the problem?
Over the next 60 days, we’re documenting every step of what it looks like to launch a token the right way, in the United States, in 2026.
This is the project log: a written companion to each daily video. Short updates on what we’re working on, what’s blocking us, and what we’re learning along the way.
Day 3/60
Dennison, Tommy, and Tyler are in Salt Lake City. Cliff is dialing in from Singapore. Today’s strategy session was focused on one question: distribution. How does Tally get the word out about its ICO without resorting to the same tactics that broke the industry in the first place?
The problem we’re solving for
Tyler asked Claude what the most successful ICOs of all time were. The answer: crime.
That’s not a joke. The original ICO era had no transparency, no third-party tools, and no accountability. People made whatever promises they wanted and disappeared. Billions were raised through influencer-driven pump and dump schemes, wash trading, and market manipulation. Most of those tokens are worth nothing now.
The go-to-market playbook that “worked” in crypto was built on:
No disclosure of paid promotions
KOLs shilling tokens they were secretly dumping
Unsophisticated participants getting sold on promises of profit
No accountability after the sale
It was railroad share days: hucksters selling anything to anybody.
Applying Tally’s product principles to our own distribution
The same transparency principles Tally is building into its token sale platform need to apply to how Tally goes to market. Just like we’re using Uniswap CCA for on-chain price discovery and locking liquidity post-sale, the distribution motion has to match.
We repeatedly landed on rethinking how KOLs work. The function itself is legitimate: tell people that something exists and why it’s valuable. Most teams’ biggest problem is that nobody knows what they’re building. But the way it’s been done is broken.
Dennison’s point: disclosure doesn’t kill effectiveness. Kim Kardashian tells people she’s paid to promote a smoothie. People still buy it. You don’t have to lie. And from the project’s side, you don’t want to raise from people with unrealistic expectations. You cannot promise profit to anyone. So why build a distribution strategy around implying it?
Applying learnings to Tally’s ICO
The team is mapping out a go-to-market strategy built on the same principles as the platform:
Transparent KOL partnerships: full disclosure, no hidden bags, no undisclosed payments. Treat it like what it is: advertising
KY(KOL) built into the process: educational materials on what you can and can’t say. Dennison floated an idea for a platform where KOLs register, KYC, sign contracts, and run their content through a check before posting
Story over hype: the marketing should be about the value proposition of what Tally is building, not “buy this token, it’ll make you rich”
Paid media and roadshow outreach: done openly, the way traditional advertising works
Automation and platform integration: bake as much distribution as possible into the product itself
The long-term vision goes even further. If this works, Tally becomes infrastructure where earnest entrepreneurs anywhere in the world can launch tokens, raise capital, and find an audience through a system that’s transparent by default.
The throughline
This is the same argument we are making about the token sale technicals but applied to GTM.
The mechanism should be fair. The pricing should be transparent. The liquidity should be locked. Distribution strategy should be built on the same principles. If you’re cleaning up the space, you have to clean up the whole space.
We're still workshopping and implementing the distribution decisions made during our time in SLC. We will continue to share updates as we progress.
We’re documenting everything: the legal sequencing, the tax strategy, the custody setup, the go-to-market, all of it. If you’re building in crypto and thinking about launching a token, this is the playbook we wish existed.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this series constitutes financial advice, investment advice, or a solicitation to buy or sell any token or security.