"When will UNIT be listed?"
VTQuestions continue in the comments and in private messages about where the token is traded. Many do not understand how all of this works. I will explain in more detail, hoping it will help someone avoid mistakes.
DEX:
Decentralized exchanges are often only decentralized by name. Unfortunately, this is not the case. On the TON blockchain, there are two popular exchanges: https://dedust.io/ and https://ston.fi/. They have blockchain code that allows any user to create a token pool.
For example, one user created a pool on Dedust: https://dedust.io/swap/TON/EQAacmUzwjre4EpZSldRQck9ZuWHgF2cSuStG7UN_hh6HLpK. The user placed some UNIT tokens and some TON tokens there, setting the initial price as they wanted. Since there is very little TON in the pool, any sale through this pool will lead to a sharp decline in the already low price that the user set. But it works the same way in the other direction. A small purchase will quickly raise the price. The price you see in your Tonkeeper wallet does not mean you can sell at that price without liquidity.
Due to the low liquidity in the pool, Dedust marks the token as unverified. The same applies in the Tonkeeper wallet and others, where it appears as unverified. This is the centralized part. This verification is done by people. You need to submit a request, and the pool must have more than 2,000 TON for them to mark the token as verified.
Anyone can create a token with a similar name and create a pool. Inexperienced users might start searching for the token by name and accidentally come across a completely different token. It's always a good idea to check the token's address. Our UNIT token address is EQAacmUzwjre4EpZSldRQck9ZuWHgF2cSuStG7UN_hh6HLpK.
On Ston.fi, someone has also created UNIT/TON and UNIT/USDT pools, but there is no liquidity there either. However, someone set the initial price much higher. This doesn't add much value because arbitrage traders will see the price differences and equalize them by buying on one exchange and selling on another. It’s better to choose pools based on liquidity size, as the price is more stable.
Price in Wallet:
The price in the Tonkeeper wallet is taken from the Dedust exchange. As soon as liquidity appeared, the price started showing.
Liquidity:
Anyone can add liquidity to a pool on Dedust. You’ll need to deposit some UNIT and some TON. The ratio is determined by the current price. You can withdraw tokens at any time, but the amount will be based on the current price at the time of withdrawal. There are risks and benefits to this. If the price goes up, as a liquidity provider, you will earn TON from swap fees, plus you can withdraw tokens at a favorable price. But if the token price drops, you’ll lose the TON you deposited.
For example, yesterday, someone added their UNIT tokens and about $1,000 in TON to the pool. Prior to that, a savvy trader bought UNIT at a low price. After liquidity was added, they sold it and made $270. The person who provided liquidity managed to withdraw the remaining tokens to avoid losing everything, and now there is again no liquidity. The same could happen to anyone if there are more sellers than buyers.
So, where will liquidity come from? As soon as the token starts to rise, there will be those willing to provide liquidity. For large projects, investors do this. When they’ve made enough of a marketing push for the project, they can confidently add a large amount to the pool, expecting demand to be high and that they won't lose their funds. We don’t have that opportunity right now, so liquidity will grow naturally along with demand.
Valuation:
Comparing projects by their price doesn’t make sense, as different quantities of tokens are issued. It’s better to compare valuations (FDV - Fully Diluted Valuation or Market Cap). DEXs do not display these values, but you can check them using tools like:
- https://dyor.io/token/EQAacmUzwjre4EpZSldRQck9ZuWHgF2cSuStG7UN_hh6HLpK
- https://dexscreener.com/ton/eqag5zle4j1ze8oebos23qtcdrgrdgm2tuv81us06eccybmn
For example, yesterday, UNIT's valuation went from $500k to $15M and back during trading. This happened because there is little liquidity.
Centralized Exchanges:
Listing on centralized exchanges could bring new buyers to the token. This is what many farmers are waiting for, to sell the tokens they’ve farmed. Token listings require certain conditions, such as a large number of token holders and the absence of very large holders who could dump everything at once and crash the price. All of these conditions are being actively bypassed.
Mostly, unanimous teams create tap games, declare airdrops, and artificially increase the number of users by shifting them from one app to another through mutual task placements. In the end, the same users are spread across all apps to earn rewards. To create the illusion of decentralization, the team spreads their tokens across many addresses like regular users. Sometimes, there’s also the possibility to mint more tokens. Market makers are brought in to create the appearance of demand and supply, and the token is launched on the exchange to dump it on traders who get an adrenaline rush from trading new tokens while the exchange earns on trades.
A high price is initially set to make everyone feel like millionaires and discourage them from selling. After that, the price gradually goes down as the team and other insiders sell, and farmers also sell. There is no control over the team’s wallets, so this creates a huge opportunity for manipulation. The rare occasions when a token goes up in price usually happen when the launch price wasn’t inflated or when the team is hyping up some event.
Utility:
Tokens can be divided into three categories:
1. Meme coins – They don’t pretend to do anything and immediately state that they don’t do anything.
2. Shitcoins – They pretend to do something, but they actually do nothing. If they didn’t exist, nothing would change in the product.
3. Utility tokens – Most shitcoins pretend to be utility tokens to a greater or lesser degree. Previously, they were presented as “protocol governance.” Token holders could supposedly make decisions on the protocol’s settings. This is mostly a fake, as only a few protocols actually implemented this at the code level. Most just hold rare token votes to make decisions that the team later executes or not, depending on their desires.
Because tokens don’t have real utility, they’re not listed on U.S. exchanges, as there are laws that separate financial instruments from “candy wrappers.” All trading of shitcoins happens on exchanges in countries with less developed laws, where the user takes on the risks of trading “candy wrapper.” The new wave of inexperienced traders and a large number of exchanges in Asia make it possible to launch tokens without worrying about building a decentralized system. This leads to massive market manipulation.
How this Relates to Uniton:
Our token initially had a low price because we do not promise golden mountains, pumping it with fake users drawn in for rewards and not pushing listings. Many people don’t like this, but it protects users from disappointment because price movements downward from such a low price are impossible. It also protects the project because the team is public and committed for the long term, unlike those who launch one project, then another, and then another…
If the project succeeds as planned, there will be real demand for the token inside the app. If the token goes up, decentralized exchanges will mark it as verified, and centralized exchanges will list it themselves. Liquidity providers will bring liquidity.
Those who didn’t expect the project to be like this, and not like the usual ones, can already sell their tokens now. There’s already a small demand from other users who are buying more. Those who didn’t just scroll through the feed but actually read have already benefited. And for those who were scrolling or using bots, it’s time to sell the token here: https://dedust.io/swap/EQAacmUzwjre4EpZSldRQck9ZuWHgF2cSuStG7UN_hh6HLpK/TON