Ex-Venmo Cofounder Launches $Jellyjelly, Runs to $200M

Sam, the first investor and supposed former co-founder of Venmo, has launched $Jellyjelly, a token designed to support creators on the Jelly app.

Instead of raising traditional venture capital, the team opted to launch a token directly through Pump.fun, a move that has quickly propelled $Jellyjelly to a $200M market cap in just two hours.

This comes just days after the founder of Vine launched $VINE, signalling a new wave of Web2 founders experimenting with onchain token distribution.

What is Jelly?

Jelly appears to be a video-chat app with an entertainment and virality twist, allowing users to create and share “jellies.” The $Jellyjelly token acts as both an access pass to the app and a core part of its ecosystem.

The $jellyjelly coin is something that gets you access to the app and we’re going to build it into our ecosystem.

- Iqram (Co-Founder of Jelly)

Market Reaction

The token's launch saw immediate traction:

• Hit 20,000 holders in the first hour
• Gigi flipped a 200x on
• Market cap skyrocketed from $900K to $200M in 2 hours

This explosive growth highlights the speed and scale at which token-based models can gain traction in today's market.

What does this mean for startups?

Rather than raising seed or Series A funding, startups are discovering that token launches can act as an alternative fundraising mechanism. Web2 founders are beginning to recognise that token distribution beats venture capital, enabling instant market validation and liquidity.

Every startup, app, and line of code ever written is going to be tokenized on-chain THIS cycle.

Trump changed the game forever. Go public on the internet. The market decides DAY ONE if your product is garbage

- ThreadGuy

This shift represents the rise of internet capital markets, where companies can raise capital publicly, build a community instantly, and let the market decide the value of their product instantly, from launch.

While the explosive valuations of tokens like $VINE and $Jellyjelly reflect the speculative nature of Crypto, they also highlight a potential future where real companies and professionals raise capital through decentralised markets.

The free market is here - with just a few clicks, startups can now raise money, go public, and build a community.

In this regard, $VINE and $Jellyjelly might just be the start of many more to come.