CatPad comes from everything we’ve learned through JUP, LFG, and our past launches.
When we launched JUP through LFG, our goal was to create a community-first, transparent, and demand-driven way to launch tokens. Along the way, we picked up valuable lessons, what works, what doesn’t, and where things can be improved.
One thing became clear: certainty, alignment, and transparency (C.A.T) are key to building trustworthy token launches. CatPad is our way of putting those lessons into practice, a permissionless launchpad designed to build on and improve the token launch experience.
What is CatPad?
CatPad is a permissionless launchpad designed to make token launches structured, transparent, and aligned with real demand. Unlike traditional launchpads, where access is controlled and processes can be unclear, CatPad is open to anyone, ensuring fairer and more predictable launches.
At the heart of CatPad are our C.A.T principles:
- Certainty – Certainty of supply, preventing instadumps by ensuring long-term alignment.
- Alignment – Incentives are structured so that creators, participants, and the community all win together.
- Transparency – No hidden mechanics. Everything is clear, trackable, and verifiable.
With CatPad, we’ll be experimenting with different launch metas, each designed to optimize for fairness, price discovery, and long-term alignment.
Our First Mode Under CatPad: Kickstarter
We are starting with the kickstarter mode, because it ensures that only tokens with real community backing and demand actually gets launched. It prioritizes projects that have genuine interest and support from the community.
How the Kickstarter Mode works
Step 1: Token Creation & Project Setup
- The project mints their token and provides all relevant details, including the project description, FAQs, and any key links (website, Twitter, Discord, etc.).
Step 2: Crowdfunding Vault Setup
- The tokenomics is pre-set to ensure fair distribution:
- 20% of token supply is allocated for setting up the liquidity pool (LP)
- The LP tokens are locked for one year to ensure stability.
- The LP tokens are distributed as follows:
- 47.5% to the creator
- 47.5% to the depositors
- 5% as protocol fees
- The remaining 80% of the token supply belongs to the creator and is locked and vested over 2 years.
- The project sets a funding goal—the amount needed for the token to successfully launch. For example If the project wants an FDV of $5M and 20% of the tokens are allocated to LP, the fundraising target would be $1M USDC.
- The crowdfunding period can be set to a maximum of 2 days.
Step 3: Crowdfunding Vault Goes Live
- The crowdfunding vault opens for depositors, allowing the community to commit USDC to support the launch within the funding period.
Step 4: Funding Success or Refund
- If the crowdfunding goal is met after the funding period, the total funds raised, along with 20% of the token supply, will be used to create the liquidity pool.
- Trading will begin 1 hour later.
- If the goal isn’t reached, all committed funds are automatically refunded to backers. Zero risk, full transparency.
Step 5: Pool goes live and trading begins
- Once the trading officially starts, the community can freely trade the token, and the long-term locked LP ensures price stability and fair market conditions.
Why Kickstarter Mode?
- Certainty – Tokens only launch if there’s real demand, no fake hype or no rug pulls.
- Alignment – The community actively decides which projects get launched, creating stronger engagement.
- Transparency – Everything is on-chain, fully verifiable, and ensures fair distribution.
This model is designed to give both projects and backers confidence in the launch process. It eliminates unnecessary risks while ensuring only well-supported tokens make it to market.
The Future of CatPad - We Want Your Input
As we refine Kickstarter Mode, we want to hear from the community. Some of the key questions we’re exploring (among many others):
- Should LP tokens be locked, and if so, for how long?
- What’s the best tokenomics structure for all Kickstarter launches?
- How should the locked LP tokens be distributed between creators and depositors?
- Should there be a minimum or maximum fundraising goal per project?
- What mechanisms should be in place to prevent low-effort or spam launches?
These are important decisions that will shape how Kickstarter Mode evolves, and your feedback will help us build a fair, sustainable, and community-driven launch experience.
Drop your thoughts below, and if you’d like to revisit how LFG started, check out these past discussions:
The realdezen
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