The First Soonaverse Service Module: Token Launchpad
Like IOTA, the Soonaverse examined some of the basic principles governing blockchain and distributed ledgers, looking to address weaknesses by questioning assumptions made by past builders. While IOTA stands out compared to other protocols, the Soonaverse is equally unique compared to most dApps you see on other chains. Instead of focusing on one singular type of application, we’re creating a robust stage for other projects to flourish on. We’ve developed a foundational platform where projects can seamlessly build and expand their communities, so entire economies can be developed using our software.
Step by step we’ve built each module, inviting the community to build with us and they have! Our explosive growth is a testament to their readiness to take on the challenge of creating a thriving ecosystem. But something has been missing.
What’s one of the most important aspects of a crypto economy? Tokens!
We are proud to inform you that most of the architecture has already been built to enable this vital new feature, so get ready for an entirely new experience. In May, we will deploy our Token LaunchPad and if you thought the explosion of NFTs was something, just wait for tokens.
SMR and ASMB functionality
One of the most important recent decisions by the IOTA Foundation was to create an innovative architecture for staking by distributing SMR and ASMB tokens to IOTA holders before those networks had been created. We’ve been able to accrue and “own” those tokens prior to the launch of the token and the network to drive adoption, encourage building, and energize the community, which it has!
Now, with the Soonaverse, we can offer this type of SMR and ASMB pre-network token functionality to every project in the IOTA ecosystem and because its happening on the Soonverse we can allow projects to mint them to however they choose (L1 asset on Shimmer/IOTA or an L2 token on an ISCP chain) once they become capable of supporting the new tokens.
What Can You Expect?
Tokens have always been on our roadmap and we don’t like to waste any time here. If you’ve read the documentation at docs.soonaverse.com then you probably know about the “DAO Token Deployment” feeless core module and the “Token Launchpad” service protocol, but what exactly is the difference between these two features? Let’s dive deeper.
The “DAO Token Deployment” feeless core module allows spaces to spin up their own tokens, free of charge. They can then airdrop these tokens to their community however they see fit. Most DAOs choose to issue a token to govern and coordinate their community and each token deployment achieves this goal, but also leverages the unique attributes of the IOTA network.
The “Token Launchpad” service protocol takes the tokens created from the feeless module and gives spaces the opportunity to raise funds. The launchpad creates a one time market for a project to sell a portion of their token supply to the public. The engine powering these sales is the same one behind every NFT mint, trade, and auction. This means that users can expect the same level of speed and reliability when participating in a token launch.
This new feature will enable spaces to quickly enter production and initiate token launches without start-up capital. This ability to discover and fund the latest upcoming web3 projects by buying their tokens at a special pre-sales price before it enters the market is a key attribute of the Token Launchpad.
Functionality Out of the Gate
Spaces will be able to create tokens and do public raises on the Soonaverse. When it comes to tokens, anyone can go into their space and create a token. To create a token, the space guardian will need to fill out information including name, symbol, icon, total supply, allocation percentages, etc.
If the space is looking to use the token launchpad then they’ll mark one of their allocations as “Public Sale”. If a public sale allocation isn’t chosen then it will just create a token that can be airdropped. For an airdrop, all the space guardian needs to do is upload a CSV with MetaMask addresses, how many tokens each address gets, and which allocation bucket it’s coming out of.
Once a token is submitted, it’ll become available to view in the space. Users can click on the token information to learn more. If a user has already purchased a token then they’ll be able to view that purchase and all previous purchases inside the UI. Every user will be able to see all the tokens they own inside their profile. On top of that, there will even be a claim button where users can view the tokens they’ve been airdropped and only claim the ones they want.
Buying tokens from the token launchpad public sale is very intuitive. Tokens are listed for an exact price and the user can choose to purchase them or not. A unique feature of this sale mechanism is that once the buy button is pressed and the IOTAs are sent, it’s not the end of the story. After the sale ends, there’s a cooldown period where the user can review how well the sale did and decide if they’d like to get their IOTAs refunded back. If they don’t request a refund during the cooldown period then after the duration ends, the token sale becomes finalized and ownership is transferred.
Future State
As mentioned in the Path to Decentralization website, all this data is currently being stored on the Soonaverse private network. The current IOTA/Shimmer networks cannot support native assets on the L1 or any type of L2 asset on an ISCP chain. As soon as these functionalities have been released, the systems described above will be migrated and tokens will be automatically minted the way the creator wants (either as a native asset or an L2 asset).
We give the creators the freedom to choose their token creation path. The folks at Soonaverse are big believers in native assets since it gives users way more freedom in such a unique way. Native assets minted on the L1 of either Shimmer or IOTA will have seamless transfers between the base layer and any L2 ISCP chain they choose (imagine sending your tokens from Firefly to MetaMask). But we also give creators the option to mint their tokens directly to their ISCP chain of choice (e.g. as an ERC-20 token on the Shimmer EVM).
Another future feature will be the option to automatically create liquidity for the token immediately after a token sale ends. What will happen is that a smart contract will hold a percentage of the project’s token as well as a portion of the raised capital. After the sale ends, the token and raised capital will be paired into the initial liquidity provider (LP) token and launched on a DEX. This creates the initial liquidity for the token and allows the tokens to be fully tradable without the need of a centralized exchange!
To build upon the DEX liquidity feature, we’ll also introduce an option to lock that liquidity in a smart contract. This means that after the initial liquidity is established, the project will have no way of pulling out that liquidity, leaving their token holders high and dry with no way to exit their positions. As you can imagine, knowing whether or not a project has locked their liquidity will be important information. That’s why there will be a visual in the space’s profile that tells a user whether or not the liquidity is locked and for how long.
Last, but not least: Token voting. We will slowly, seamlessly integrate voting capabilities along with other features after the launch to equip spaces with the ability to make proposals that can be voted on based on the amount of tokens a user has. In the future this will enable true token governance and give immediate value to some tokens that have governance rights.
In addition, we are experimenting with novel integrations with NFTs to create an even more robust stack of community engagement and growth tools. This is on top of other innovative module integrations that leverage tokens as a means to bridge and add value to communities.
By the end of May the LaunchPad will be ready and we will begin our next chapter of growth and innovation. The platform will continue to expand into uncharted territory, pushing the boundaries of dApp innovation, but we will do it with one of the most foundational tools of crypto: Tokens. We can’t wait for the community to get the opportunity to get ownership in their favorite projects.
Stay tuned for more information about our first token launch $SOON.
