Trading on Bonding Curves

How to buy and sell tokens on the XYZ Launchpad bonding curves

Trading on Bonding Curves

Tokens on the launchpad are traded along a constant-product virtual curve. The price rises as more tokens are bought and falls as tokens are sold. The curve guarantees liquidity at every price point — you can always buy or sell.

Buying Tokens

To buy tokens on a bonding curve:

1. Navigate to the token’s page on the launchpad
2. Enter the amount of XYZ you want to spend
3. Review the estimated tokens you’ll receive and the price impact
4. Click Buy and confirm in your wallet

Buy Mechanics

XYZ input → 0.5% fee deducted → curve calculates tokens out → tokens sent to you

The number of tokens you receive is calculated using the constant-product formula, accounting for the current virtual reserves.

Slippage Protection

When buying, you set a min_tokens_out value. If the trade would result in fewer tokens (due to other trades executing first), the transaction reverts. The UI calculates this automatically based on your slippage tolerance.

Selling Tokens

To sell tokens back to the curve:

1. Navigate to the token’s page
2. Switch to the Sell tab
3. Enter the amount of tokens to sell
4. Review the estimated XYZ you’ll receive
5. Click Sell and confirm in your wallet

Sell Mechanics

Tokens returned to curve → curve calculates XYZ out → 2.5% fee deducted → XYZ sent to you

The sell fee goes entirely to LP reserves (liquidity).

Slippage Protection

When selling, you set a min_xyz_out value. If you’d receive less XYZ than this minimum, the transaction reverts.

Price Mechanics

The bonding curve uses a constant-product virtual curve:

K = virtual_xyz * virtual_tokens
price = K / (virtual_tokens_start - tokens_sold)^2

Metric	Description
Starting price	Dynamically computed from oracle XYZ/USD price
Price direction	Increases as more tokens are bought
Price discovery	Deterministic — price is a function of supply sold
Guaranteed liquidity	You can always buy or sell at the current curve price

Reading the Chart

The token page shows a price chart tracking the token over time. Key indicators:

• Current price — The price for the next marginal token
• Tokens sold — How many of the 100M supply have been purchased
• XYZ reserves — Total XYZ locked in the curve
• Progress — Percentage toward the dynamic XYZ graduation threshold

Simulating Trades

Before executing, you can preview the exact outcome using the simulate endpoints:

SimulateBuy

{
  "simulate_buy": {
    "token_address": "<cw20_token_address>",
    "xyz_amount": "1000000"
  }
}
// Returns: tokens_out, fee_amount, new_price

The UI uses these queries to display estimated outcomes before you confirm.

Fee Summary

Action	Fee Rate	Details
Buy	0.5%	Deducted from XYZ input before curve calculation
Sell	2.5%	Goes to LP reserves (liquidity)

Once a token graduates to the AMM, you can no longer buy or sell on the bonding curve. All trading moves to the AMM.

Next Steps

Graduation

Learn what happens when a token reaches the graduation threshold

AMM Swapping

Trade on the AMM after graduation