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Launch your token: the 90-day pre-launch playbook

From "we want to launch" to live trading without slipping the date

90 days (multi-workstream parallel execution) · advanced

What you'll have when finished

  • Launch date hit (within 1 week of target)
  • Day-1 trading volume within forecast range
  • No safety / wash-trading flags on the launch token
  • Day-1 operations runbook executed without chaos

Before you start

  • 90 days is the MINIMUM realistic timeline. Audit queues alone are 60-90 days.
  • Skip steps and you'll either delay (best case) or launch broken (worst case).
  • This guide is for project teams launching tokens, not individual traders.

Walkthrough

  1. Days 90-60: Foundation (legal, tokenomics, audit booking)

    Highest-leverage 30 days. Get these right and everything else gets easier. **Legal (parallel workstream):** - Engage crypto-native counsel in your jurisdiction - Get a legal opinion letter on token classification (security vs utility) - Set up the entity (Cayman, BVI, Singapore most common for global) **Tokenomics (use Tokenomics Studio):** - Design 3 candidate structures, simulate each - Pick the one with best demand-resilience under conservative scenarios - Export the spec for your contract dev **Audit (book immediately):** - Tier-1 audit firms (Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certik premium) have 60-90 day queues - Book at day 90 minimum. Specify a target slot at day 30-45. - Tier-2 firms (Hacken, Halborn) have shorter queues but lower brand recognition **Team disclosure:** - Decide: doxxed or pseudonymous? - If doxxed: prepare LinkedIn, prior project history, Twitter - If pseudonymous: prepare to compensate with audit + multisig governance disclosure If any of these slip past day 60, the whole launch slips. Critical path.

    Success criteria: Legal counsel engaged · Tokenomics designed + exported · Audit booked with date · Team disclosure decision made

  2. Days 60-30: Build + Brand (contracts, marketing, listings prep)

    Building parallel to legal/audit. Marketing wakes up. **Smart contracts:** - Devs implement tokenomics spec - Internal testing on testnet - Hand to auditor by day 45 **Marketing ramp:** - Twitter active 3-5×/day (currently? then NOW) - Discord launched + populated - Content cadence (blog, threads, AMAs) → minimum weekly - Goal by day 30: 10K+ Twitter, 2K+ Discord **Listing comms:** - Run [Listing Readiness](/help-center?article=listing_readiness_complete_guide) — your score should climb from 50-60 (day 90) to 75+ (day 30) - Begin tier-2 CEX listing conversations (60-day cycles typical) - DEX listing requires no application — just plan the LP seed **Competitor intel:** - Run [Competitor Tracker](/help-center?article=competitor_tracker_complete_guide) on 5-10 sector peers - Watch for launches in your category — too crowded = slip 30-60 days **Forecast volume:** - Run [Launch Volume Forecaster](/help-center?article=launch_volume_forecaster_complete_guide) with current inputs - Iterate as marketing reach grows. Use forecast to size LP.

    Success criteria: Contracts complete, in audit · Marketing at target reach · Listing Readiness score 75+ · Volume forecast generated

  3. Days 30-7: Launch prep (audit fixes, LP sizing, day-1 runbook)

    Final stretch. No new initiatives — close gaps. **Audit fixes:** - Auditor returns findings; dev fixes; re-audit - This is the most-commonly-slipped phase. Build buffer. **LP sizing:** - Run [DEX Liquidity Optimizer](/help-center?article=dex_liquidity_optimizer_complete_guide) on your planned pair - LP USD should match forecast volume (typically 5-15% of day-1 expected volume) - Decide concentrated range — wider for launch (high vol), narrower after week 1 **MM contract:** - If forecast volume > $500K/day, you likely need MM - Negotiate 1-3 month initial contract; renew based on organic growth - Vet MM via [Volume Health](/help-center?article=volume_health_complete_guide) — confirm they don't wash-trade your token **Day-1 runbook:** - Hour-by-hour plan for launch day - Who seeds LP, who monitors price, who responds to community - Pre-staged Twitter announcements (timed releases) - Bug bounty ready (in case post-launch surprises) **KYC tokens for sale (if doing public sale):** - Last chance to finalize KYC vendor (Sumsub, Synaps, Civic) - Test the flow with internal users

    Success criteria: Audit signed off · LP USD amount finalized · MM contract signed (if needed) · Day-1 runbook documented

  4. Day 0: LAUNCH — execute the runbook

    Pure execution day. No new decisions. **T-2 hours:** - Verify deployer wallet funded for gas - LP USDC + tokens transferred to seeding wallet - Audit report PDF live on website - Community announcement scheduled (T-0 minutes) **T=0: Deploy:** - Token contract deployed - LP seeded immediately (don't leave a window for sandwich bots) - Trading enabled (renounce ownership if planned) - Tweet thread posted from project handle **T+30 min:** - Verify trading working (try a $10 buy + sell) - Monitor LP for unusual draws - Respond to first community questions **T+24 hours:** - Pull volume / holder / LP metrics - Compare to forecast — within range? - Address any contract issues (if non-renounced) - First "launched ✓" recap post The day-1 runbook prevents the "we're live but nobody planned for THIS" panic that kills momentum.

    Success criteria: Token deployed without error · LP seeded within 5 min of deploy · First trade verified · Community announcement timed correctly

  5. Days 1-30 post-launch: Stabilize and listing acceleration

    Day-1 momentum doesn't survive without active management. **Week 1 priorities:** - Monitor [LP Studio](/help-center?article=lp_studio_complete_guide) — rebalance if out of range - Track [Volume Health](/help-center?article=volume_health_complete_guide) — flag if wash % spikes - Daily community AMAs (live, not pre-recorded) - Engage MM weekly — adjust spread expectations as volume settles **Week 2-4 priorities:** - Apply to tier-2 CEXes (you should now have track record + volume data) - Run Tokenomics Advisor weekly to monitor any abnormal supply changes - Iterate marketing — what worked in launch week, do more of **Month 1 review:** - Did volume match forecast? (within 50% = success) - Did Holder count grow? (target: +20%/week early) - Did LP earn fees as projected? Adjust concentrated range if not. - Are competitors responding? (run Competitor Tracker) **The brutal truth:** 60%+ of launches die in month 1 because the team treats launch day as the finish line. It's the starting line.

    Success criteria: Week-1 volume tracked vs forecast · LP rebalanced if needed · Tier-2 CEX applications submitted · Month-1 review completed

What's next

Launch is over. Now the boring part: **Month 2-3:** - Tier-2 CEX listings going live → more LP needed on those venues - Marketing shifts from "we exist" to "we ship" (product updates, partnership announcements) - Tokenomics monitoring — first vesting unlocks happen month 6+, plan messaging **Month 4-6:** - Tier-1 CEX listing conversations (these take 3-12 months) - Product-led growth replaces marketing-led growth - Community moderators / KOLs / regional ambassadors **The realistic expectation:** - 70% of launches are below ATH at month 3 - 80% are below ATH at month 6 - This is normal. Launch hype always overshoots fundamentals. **Survival strategies for the dip:** - Don't panic-promote — fake hype kills credibility - Ship product updates (real ones) - Engage existing holders (don't chase new ones) - Quarterly tokenomics review **Next:** [Build a risk-managed trading system](/learning-library?guide=build-risk-managed-trading-system) if you want to learn how serious traders evaluate launches like yours. Knowing how they think helps you market to them better.