What is an Algorand launchpad?

Two kinds of Algorand launchpad

Sale-style launchpads run an initial offering. You set a token amount, a time window and sometimes soft and hard caps, buyers send ALGO during the window, and when it ends the raised ALGO and some tokens are used to start trading. They suit teams who want to raise funds from a community.

Instant-liquidity launchpads skip the sale. They create the token and open a trading pool in one step, so there is no raise and no waiting: the token is tradable as soon as the launch finishes. PNET LaunchLab is this second kind.

What an instant-liquidity launch does on Algorand

On Algorand a token is an Algorand Standard Asset (ASA), and trading happens in automated market-maker pools such as Tinyman. An instant launch on PNET LaunchLab does this in two wallet approvals:

• Approval 1 creates the ASA with every control address left empty, and swaps exactly 1 ALGO into PNET.
• Approval 2 creates the Tinyman v2 pool, puts the whole supply and the PNET into it, and splits the liquidity tokens: 80% burned, 10% for the creator, 10% for the platform.

What to check before you launch anywhere

• Can the token be changed? Look for a manager, reserve, freeze or clawback address on the asset. A fixed token has none.
• Who holds the liquidity? Liquidity tokens that were burned can not be withdrawn; ones held by a wallet can. See how liquidity burning works.
• Can the contract be upgraded or paused? An upgradeable contract can be changed by its owner; an immutable one can not, which is safer against abuse and harder to fix if a bug is found.
• Is the code public and tested, and has it been audited by an outside firm?
• What does it really cost? Count pool creation, deposits and fees, not only the headline price. Here the total is about 2.7 ALGO, see the cost breakdown.

What it takes for people to trade a new Algorand token

Every Algorand token has to be added to a wallet before the wallet can hold it. That step is called an opt-in, and it raises the wallet's minimum balance by 0.1 ALGO for each asset it holds. Wallets such as Pera handle this when you add the token, and Tinyman and Vestige prompt for it when you trade, so buyers only need a little spare ALGO.

Trading itself happens in a pool: a pair of assets locked in a smart contract that sets the price from the ratio of the two. The pool is created once, funded with both assets by whoever launches, and from then on anyone can swap against it. That is why who holds the pool's liquidity tokens matters so much, and why this launchpad burns most of them.

Common mistakes when launching a token

• Leaving a freeze, clawback, manager or reserve address on the token. Holders then have to trust whoever controls it. A launch here leaves all four empty.
• Keeping the liquidity tokens in your own wallet. It tells buyers you can withdraw the pool whenever you like.
• Starting with a supply the pool can not accept. Tinyman needs a minimum first deposit, so this launchpad asks for at least 1 whole token.
• Running short of ALGO. A launch needs about 2.7 ALGO; keep 3 ALGO so a fee or deposit never stops the second step.
• Putting private information in the token's website field. It is public and fixed forever.

How PNET LaunchLab compares

Every launch gets the same structure, so tokens are easy to compare: an immutable token, a Tinyman v2 pool seeded with the whole supply and 1 ALGO of PNET, and 80% of the liquidity burned. Each token has a page that reads these facts from the chain and shows them as a checklist, with a price chart and top holders.

It is beta software: the contract is public and tested but has not had a paid third-party audit yet. Read the FAQ for the details, then launch a token when you are ready.