Bonding Curve
A formula that sets a token's price from its supply, so each new mint costs more than the last.
A bonding curve ties price to supply through a fixed equation. Buy tokens and you mint new ones higher up the curve; sell and you burn them lower down. No order book, no counterparty—the contract is always the market maker.
Solana's pump.fun used bonding curves to launch hundreds of thousands of meme coins in 2024, each starting near zero and climbing as buyers piled in.
The math is transparent, but it cuts both ways. Early buyers sit on cheap supply, and when they sell, the curve drops fast for everyone behind them.
Related terms
A pricing algorithm that lets a token pool quote and settle trades automatically, replacing the traditional order book of buyers and sellers.
MintingThe act of creating a new token or NFT and writing it onto a blockchain for the first time.
Meme CoinA token built on a joke, trend, or mascot, with value driven almost entirely by hype rather than utility.
TokenomicsThe economic design of a token — its supply, distribution, and incentives — that shapes whether it can hold value.