@wbnns
Thoughts on auctions as a token launch mechanism
Most token launches are speed contests -- b/c of this it's common to see bots, snipers & speculators seeking quick extraction, not aligned w/ community & project vision
Auctions are a potential solution to this
Here's what they can do:
1. Enable price discovery before trading so it's not as susceptible to PvP after
2. Lead to broader distribution at similar prices, making sniping difficult since there's no single moment to exploit
3. Create better team/holder alignment via vesting and more participation for people that have other things to do besides dropping everything to be early and first
But in exchange there are also sacrifices:
1. They're not fast -- can take days to complete vs seconds/minutes/hours
2. Higher cognitive load, not as simple for everyone to understand + participate in
3. At end of day people are buying tokens to make money -- there's a speculative component that's lost (debatable if good or bad); most people aren't going to see bag moon during auction
4. If there's things like vesting, flexibility is removed -- people are locked in
5. Compared to typical high energy token launches, auctions can be slow, drawn out, some might say boring if not executed well
6. Speculators will still dump as soon as they can when there's an auction, it's just delayed
In this the tension then becomes whether to optimize for fairness & stability vs w/ traditional launches w/ volatility & speed. Different tools for different jobs
For communities wanting aligned incentives, auctions can be a good option
For memes, viral content or something fast-moving, capturing attention immediately -- not so much
It's not about which is better, more about the fit
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