A bonding curve is a formula that sets a token's price from its supply — buying mints new tokens at ever-higher prices along the curve; selling burns them back down it. Early buyers get in cheap; the curve itself is the market maker, no counterparties needed. Why it matters Bonding curves powered the 2017-era experiments and still underpin many fair launches and NFT mints: transparent, automatic price discovery. The dark side is identical mechanics in pump-and-dump wrappers — "price only goes up while people buy" is also the literal definition of the greater-fool phase. Read the curve's math before its marketing. Related terms token · automated market maker · tokenomics
A bonding curve is a formula that sets a token’s price from its supply — buying mints new tokens at ever-higher prices along the curve; selling burns them back down it. Early buyers get in cheap; the curve itself is the market maker, no counterparties needed.
Why it matters
Bonding curves powered the 2017-era experiments and still underpin many fair launches and NFT mints: transparent, automatic price discovery. The dark side is identical mechanics in pump-and-dump wrappers — “price only goes up while people buy” is also the literal definition of the greater-fool phase. Read the curve’s math before its marketing.