According to Miles Deutscher, ICOs gained traction because Ethereum (ETH) was successfully funded via a 2014 ICO and then provided an open-ended smart contract protocol that enabled anyone to pitch blockchain ideas, driving broader participation in token fundraising (source: Miles Deutscher). He outlines a flywheel: a successful ETH ICO led to Ethereum enabling smart contracts, which allowed developers and teams to secure funding and then launch products, reinforcing successive token launches (source: Miles Deutscher). This framework explains why early token issuance clustered around Ethereum and shaped initial liquidity flows across ICOs, a structural context relevant for trading analysis of primary market cycles (source: Miles Deutscher).