What is a bonding curve?
A bonding curve is a formula that sets a token's price from how much of it has been sold. Some launch platforms use one to sell a new token before it has an open trading pool, and then migrate it into a normal pool once enough has been bought.
Updated 2026-10-11
How a curve sets the price
With a bonding curve there is no order book. You buy from, and sell back to, the curve itself. The more of the token that has been bought, the higher the next unit costs. Selling moves the price back down along the same line.
What migration means
Curve launches typically define a threshold. When enough has been bought, the liquidity collected is moved into an open trading pool and the token trades there like any other. This move is called migration or graduation.
Migration changes how the token trades: price now depends on pool liquidity rather than the curve formula, and slippage behaves differently.
How this appears in Pulse
The columns keep the same names on every chain. On Arc and HyperEVM, Pulse is built from live pool listings.
| Pulse column | Stage |
|---|---|
| New Pairs | Tokens that just launched or just got a pool |
| Final Stretch | Tokens approaching migration to a full market |
| Migrated | Tokens that have completed migration |
Cautions
A token nearing migration is not safer or more likely to succeed because of it. Check holder spread, developer holdings and liquidity before buying. Trading digital assets, and new tokens in particular, involves substantial risk, including total loss. Nothing here is financial advice.
Do all chains use bonding curves?
No. Curve launches are a feature of particular launch platforms. Many tokens are launched straight into a pool.
What is the Final Stretch column?
On Verve it lists tokens approaching migration to a full market.