Inside Successful TGEs

Web3 has entered a new phase of maturity. 

Capital is flowing back into the ecosystem, teams are scaling faster, and token launches are once again becoming a central milestone for many projects. Since early 2024 alone, Web3 startups have raised more than $4.1 billion, accelerating both the pace and volume of Token Generation Events.

But with this resurgence comes a new reality: TGEs are no longer rare moments. They are crowded, competitive, and scrutinized. 

More projects are launching into the same attention economy, competing for the same users, liquidity, and trust. As a result, many TGEs follow a similar pattern: announcements, listings, short bursts of hype, and then a struggle to sustain momentum once the initial noise fades.

At Formula, we don’t believe successful TGEs are defined by launch-day performance alone. We see them as the outcome of long-term positioning, strong narrative work, and a deep understanding of how markets, communities, and investors behave. 

This belief led us to take a closer look at what really drives a TGE’s success today.

Why we decided to study TGEs

Working closely with Web3 founders and teams, we repeatedly encountered the same questions: 

• Is it possible to launch successfully without years of brand building? 
• Do Tier-1 exchange listings guarantee success? 
• Can marketing budgets replace community trust? 
• And why do some tokens retain attention long after launch, while others fade within weeks?

Instead of relying on assumptions or anecdotes, we turned to data. 

Formula conducted an in-depth analysis of over 200 TGEs from 2024–2025. We shortlisted top-performing launches and spoke directly with the founders and executives behind them. The goal was not to find shortcuts, but to identify patterns that consistently appeared in launches that held up over time.

What the data revealed

One of the clearest findings was that successful TGEs are rarely rushed. 

Five out of eight top-performing launches had at least two years of brand and community groundwork before their token went live. This doesn’t mean that newer projects are destined to fail, but it does show that credibility compounds over time. When a token reaches the market, investors aren’t just evaluating tokenomics. They’re assessing trust, narrative clarity, and track record.

Another insight was that awareness almost never started with the TGE announcement itself. 

Projects that performed well entered launch week with existing visibility: prior media coverage, recognizable narratives, and audiences who already understood what the product did. In these cases, the TGE announcement acted as a catalyst, not an introduction.

Traffic sources were also more diversified than expected. Instead of relying on a single channel, successful TGEs combined editorial coverage, social traction, community activity, and ecosystem placements. This created a more resilient demand curve and reduced reliance on short-term hype spikes.

Most importantly, the research reinforced a familiar truth: community can’t be bought. 

Incentives and campaigns helped drive visibility, but long-term engagement came from education, participation, and a sense of shared direction. Teams that treated their community as peopleto inform, rather than a metric to inflate, saw stronger retention after launch.

Why PR still matters, even without direct ROI

One of the most misunderstood aspects of TGE marketing is the role of PR.

In the data, PR rarely showed a direct connection to token purchases. Yet it consistently influenced something more fundamental: confidence.

By the time a TGE is announced, investors are actively searching for third-party validation. They look for interviews, explainers, thought leadership, and independent perspectives to understand what a project stands for. Teams that had invested in PR before launch benefited from stronger trust signals, higher engagement, and a longer attention window around the TGE.

In that sense, PR didn’t replace performance-driven channels; it enabled them. It created the context in which attention could turn into belief.

From launch moment to launch process

Another major takeaway was how successful teams approach the launch itself. They didn’t treat the TGE as a single event. They treated it as a process. 

Pre-TGE efforts focused on building awareness and credibility. Launch day centered on participation and conversion. Post-TGE communications were designed to maintain relevance, answer questions, and manage expectations, particularly around unlocks and market volatility.

Projects that failed to plan beyond launch day often saw momentum drop sharply. Those that extended their narrative beyond the TGE were far more likely to maintain visibility and trust in the weeks that followed.

Turning research into a playbook

To make these insights actionable, Formula distilled the research into a practical framework that addresses the most common founder concerns,  from brand maturity and traffic sources to community building and post-unlock pressure. 

The goal wasn’t to prescribe a single formula, but to bring clarity to what actually matters when preparing for a token launch in today’s market.

Final thoughts

The most important lesson from the research is simple: successful TGEs are built long before the token launches. 

In a crowded and increasingly sophisticated market, execution alone isn’t enough. Projects that perform well treat brand, PR, community, and narrative as strategic assets, not optional add-ons.

TGEs don’t fail because there isn’t enough attention. They fail because the market doesn’t believe the story. And, as the data shows, belief takes time to earn.