Bonding curve
A bonding curve is a launchpad’s built-in market that sets a coin’s price from how much of it has been bought, so the price rises with every buy.
How it works
Most meme launchpads use a constant-product curve with virtual reserves: quote reserve × coin reserve = k. A buy adds quote and removes coins, so each coin costs more than the last. Virtual reserves set the starting price without anyone putting money in.
| Launchpad | Start | For sale on the curve | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| pump.fun | 30 SOL and 1,073,000,000 coins (virtual) | 793,100,000 | 1.25%, on top of the buy |
| Pons | 1.68 ETH (virtual) and 1,000,000,000 coins | 5/7 of supply, until 4.2 ETH is raised | 1%, out of the buy |
Worked example
pump fun, a fresh curve, 1 SOL reaches the curve: k = 30 × 1,073,000,000. After the buy the quote side is 31 SOL, so the coin side is 30 × 1,073,000,000 ÷ 31 = 1,038,387,097. The buyer gets 34,612,903 coins, 3.46% of supply, and pays 1.0125 SOL with the fee.
Pons, 0.1 ETH: 0.099 ETH reaches the curve after the 1% fee. The buyer gets 55,649,241 coins, 5.56% of supply.
Try your own numbers in the bonding curve calculator.
Sources
- Unison, read from pump fun’s Global and FeeConfig accounts and the Pons factory, 8 Nov 2026.
- pump fun program docs, read 12 Nov 2026.
Related
- Graduation: Graduation is when a coin finishes its bonding curve and its liquidity moves to a regular DEX pool, where trading continues.
- Snipe tax: A snipe tax is a launchpad fee on early buys that starts high and falls to zero within seconds, so bots gain little by buying first.
- Creator fees: Creator fees are the share of a coin’s trading fees that the launchpad pays to the coin’s creator.
Updated 12 Nov 2026. Source: Unison (unisongo.com). Launching a coin can lose money.