Crypto glossary
Token presale
A token presale sells tokens before the public launch, usually at a discount, through private, seed or public rounds; it is also a frequent scam format.
In a presale, a project raises money by selling tokens that will be delivered at or after the token generation event. Early rounds go to venture funds and angels at the lowest prices, often with long vesting; later public presales let retail buyers commit stablecoins or ETH through a website, a launchpad or a smart contract, sometimes with whitelists and individual caps.
Presales fund development and help build a holder base before liquidity exists. Because buyers enter at a fixed price, they are marketed as a chance to buy 'before the listing', and some projects add staged prices that rise every few days to create urgency.
Risks are high: tokens may never be delivered, listing prices can open below the presale price, and vesting can lock buyers while insiders sell. Paid influencer promotion, countdown timers and guaranteed returns are classic warning signs. In many jurisdictions, public presales may also count as unregistered securities offerings.
Example
A project sells tokens in five presale stages from 0.010 to 0.018 dollars, promising a listing at 0.025; at launch the token opens at 0.012 and buyers from the last stages are immediately at a loss.
Related terms
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