For investors
Buying in a presale
Paying with PBTC or almost any Base token, what the limits mean, getting in early, selling on a bonding curve, and claiming your tokens after launch.
Paying
Open the token page during the presale and use the buy card. You can pay with PBTC or with almost any token on Base, such as ETH, USDC or another launched token; it is swapped into PBTC for you as part of the purchase, so it is still one transaction. The card shows what you will receive, the rate and the minimum you will get once slippage is taken into account.
Limits
If the creator switched on whale protection, there is a cap on how much of the presale one wallet can buy. The card shows the cap and stops you at it. On fixed and stepped presales the creator may have allowed buying past the cap with vesting: you get the tokens, but the part above the cap is vested, 30 days for every limit's worth you go over. Buy twice the limit and the excess unlocks over 30 days; three times the limit and it takes twice as long. The card asks you to acknowledge this before such a purchase goes through.
Early access
Every presale opens to the public 10 minutes after it is created. During that window, the card offers Burn COAL for early access: burn $10 worth of COAL and you can buy before everyone else. The COAL is gone for good, so it is worth it for presales you expect to fill fast.
Bonding curves: selling before launch
On a bonding curve you can sell your tokens back to the curve at any point before it sells out. The price walks back down as you sell. A 5% fee applies: half goes to the creator, half is used to buy and burn COAL.
After the presale
If the token launches, come back to the token page and claim your tokens. They are not sent automatically. Vested amounts show up in the claim as they unlock.
If the presale fails (a fixed or stepped presale that ends below its soft cap), the same card offers a full refund in PBTC. See When a presale fails.
Your presale positions, what is claimable and any refunds are all listed in your Portfolio.
If the creator enabled staking during the presale
Fixed and stepped presales can let you stake the tokens you bought right away, from the staking widget on the token page, so you start earning rewards before launch.