A fixed-price mint is a primary sale mechanism for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) where each token in a collection is sold at a predetermined, non-negotiable price, typically denominated in a native cryptocurrency like Ethereum (ETH) or Solana (SOL). This model is the most common and straightforward launch strategy, contrasting with dynamic pricing methods like Dutch auctions or English auctions. It provides price certainty for both the project team and collectors, establishing a clear and stable entry point for the collection's market value. The mint price is usually set based on factors like perceived value, production costs, and market conditions at launch.
LABS
Glossary
Fixed-Price Mint
An NFT or token sale where each unit is sold at a predetermined, non-fluctuating price, typically on a first-come, first-served basis.
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definition
NFT MECHANISM
What is Fixed-Price Mint?
A fixed-price mint is a primary NFT sale method where each digital asset is sold at a predetermined, non-negotiable price, typically in a native cryptocurrency like ETH or SOL.
The technical execution of a fixed-price mint involves a smart contract with a predefined mintPrice variable. When a user initiates a transaction to mint, they must send the exact amount of cryptocurrency to the contract address; the transaction will fail if the sent amount is incorrect. The contract logic typically includes checks for the current mint phase (e.g., allowlist, public sale), available supply, and per-wallet limits before executing the mint and transferring the newly created NFT to the buyer's wallet. This deterministic pricing simplifies the user experience but places significant importance on the project's initial pricing strategy to balance demand and long-term viability.
Key strategic considerations for a fixed-price mint include setting the price point to cover gas fees and platform royalties while remaining accessible to the target audience. A price set too high may suppress demand and lead to an unsuccessful mint, while a price set too low can trigger excessive gas wars during high-demand launches, ultimately costing participants more in transaction fees than the mint price itself. Projects often employ allowlists (formerly whitelists) to manage initial demand and reward early supporters with guaranteed minting rights at the fixed price before a public sale opens.
From a collector's perspective, participating in a fixed-price mint requires preparing a wallet with sufficient funds for the mint price plus estimated network transaction fees. The primary risks involve smart contract vulnerabilities, the potential for the project's floor price on secondary markets to fall below the mint price (minting at a loss), and the technical execution of the mint process itself. Successful fixed-price mints for highly anticipated projects can create immediate equity for holders, as secondary market trading often begins at a premium to the mint price, a phenomenon known as having 'immediate upside.'
The fixed-price model is foundational but exists within a broader ecosystem of minting mechanisms. It is often compared to graduated Dutch auctions, which start high and decrease in price until all items are sold, and bonding curve mints, where the price increases with each subsequent sale. The choice of mechanism reflects the project's goals for fairness, price discovery, and community formation. Despite its simplicity, the fixed-price mint remains the bedrock of most NFT launches due to its predictability and ease of understanding for a broad audience.
how-it-works
MECHANISM
How a Fixed-Price Mint Works
A fixed-price mint is a token distribution model where a new digital asset is sold at a predetermined, non-fluctuating price, typically in exchange for a base cryptocurrency like ETH or SOL.
In a fixed-price mint, the project sets a specific, immutable price for each token (e.g., NFT or fungible token) before the sale begins. This price is usually denominated in a native blockchain currency such as Ethereum (ETH) or Solana (SOL). The mechanism is straightforward: users send the exact required amount of cryptocurrency to a smart contract to mint a token, with the contract verifying the payment and automatically issuing the new asset to the sender's wallet. This model provides price certainty for both the project and participants, eliminating the volatility and bidding wars seen in auctions.
The technical execution relies on a minting smart contract with predefined logic. Key parameters are hardcoded, including the mintPrice, maxSupply, maxPerWallet, and the sale's start/end times. When a user initiates a transaction, the contract checks if the sent funds equal the mintPrice, if the total supply hasn't been exceeded, and if the user hasn't surpassed their allocation. Upon successful validation, the contract executes the mint—creating the new token's metadata and transferring it to the buyer while sending the collected funds to the project's treasury. This process is often executed as a first-come, first-served event until the supply is depleted.
This model is commonly used for NFT collection launches and initial fungible token distributions (e.g., fair launches). Its primary advantage is simplicity and predictability, allowing projects to raise a calculable amount of capital and enabling participants to know their exact cost upfront. However, it carries risks like gas wars on congested networks, where users competitively pay higher transaction fees to get their mint transactions processed first when demand exceeds supply. It also lacks the price-discovery mechanism of a Dutch auction or bonding curve.
To mitigate issues like gas wars and bots, projects often implement allowlists (formerly whitelists) for guaranteed minting slots or use a staggered sale structure. A real-world example is the initial mint of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, which were offered at a fixed price of 0.08 ETH. The fixed-price model contrasts with dynamic pricing models such as Dutch auctions (price decreases over time) and English auctions (price increases with bids), which are designed for market-driven price discovery rather than guaranteed cost.
key-features
MECHANICAL GUARANTEES
Key Features of Fixed-Price Mints
Fixed-price mints are a primary NFT sale mechanism where the price per token is predetermined and immutable for the duration of the sale, offering predictable economics for both creators and collectors.
01
Price Predictability
The core feature is a guaranteed, non-fluctuating price for each NFT in the collection for the entire minting window. This eliminates auction-style price discovery and front-running, allowing participants to budget precisely. For example, a project might set a fixed mint price of 0.1 ETH for all 10,000 tokens.
02
First-Come, First-Served (FCFS) Access
Allocation is typically determined by transaction order within the smart contract. This creates a gas auction environment where users compete via transaction fees to secure their mint. While simple, it can lead to network congestion and high gas costs for participants during high-demand launches.
03
Deterministic Revenue for Creators
Project creators can calculate maximum possible revenue with certainty before the mint begins (Price × Total Supply). This simplifies budgeting and project planning. Revenue is generated linearly as each token is sold, providing immediate liquidity without the uncertainty of a descending-price auction (like a Dutch auction).
04
Absence of Slippage
Unlike bonding curve mints or automated market maker (AMM) models, a fixed-price mint has zero price slippage. The cost for minting the 1st token and the 10,000th token is identical, provided the sale is active. This protects later minters from inflationary price effects caused by earlier sales.
05
Mint Cap & Supply Mechanics
Fixed-price mints are governed by clear supply parameters:
- Hard Cap: The maximum number of tokens available (e.g., 10,000).
- Per-Wallet Limits: Often implemented to prevent sybil attacks and promote fair distribution (e.g., max 2 tokens per address).
- The sale concludes immediately when the final token is minted.
06
Contrast with Dutch Auctions
A key alternative is the Dutch Auction (or descending-price auction), where the price starts high and decreases over time until buyers step in. Fixed-price mints favor speed and simplicity, while Dutch auctions aim to discover the market-clearing price and can sometimes generate higher total revenue for creators.
COMPARISON
Fixed-Price Mint vs. Other Sale Models
A technical comparison of primary NFT sale mechanisms based on pricing, complexity, and risk allocation.
| Feature | Fixed-Price Mint | Dutch Auction | English Auction | Allowlist Raffle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing Mechanism | Static, pre-defined price | Price decreases over time | Price increases via bids | Static, pre-defined price |
Price Discovery | ||||
Gas Competition | Low (first-come, first-served) | High (timing strategy) | High (bid wars) | None (randomized post-snapshot) |
Complexity for Collector | Low | Medium | High | Low |
Complexity for Project | Low | Medium | Medium | High (sybil resistance) |
Primary Revenue Predictability | High | Medium | Low (depends on bids) | High |
Fairness Perception | Low (favors bots) | Medium | Medium (favors capital) | High (favors community) |
Typical Use Case | General collection launch | Artistic/experimental projects | High-value 1/1 auctions | Community-focused launches |
ecosystem-usage
FIXED-PRICE MINT
Ecosystem Usage & Protocols
A fixed-price mint is a token distribution mechanism where assets are sold at a predetermined, non-negotiable price, typically in a first-come, first-served model. This section details its core mechanics, common use cases, and key protocol implementations.
01
Core Mechanism
A fixed-price mint is a primary sale event where a predetermined quantity of tokens (e.g., NFTs or fungible tokens) is offered at a set price, often in exchange for a base-layer cryptocurrency like ETH or SOL. The process is typically deterministic and non-auction based, with no price discovery phase. Key characteristics include:
- First-Come, First-Served (FCFS): Allocation is based on transaction submission order.
- Hard Cap: A maximum supply limit for the sale.
- Transparent Pricing: Buyers know the exact cost per unit before participating. This model contrasts with bonding curves or Dutch auctions where price fluctuates with demand.
02
Primary Use Case: NFT Launches
The most prevalent application is for launching Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collections. Projects use fixed-price mints to create initial distribution and community building. Standard mechanics include:
- A mint price (e.g., 0.08 ETH) set before the sale goes live.
- A mint limit per wallet to prevent excessive accumulation.
- A reveal mechanism where token metadata is hidden until after the mint concludes. Protocols like Manifold, ZORA, and OpenSea's Creator Studio provide standardized smart contract templates to facilitate these launches securely.
03
Fair Launch & Anti-Bot Measures
To ensure equitable access, fixed-price mints often incorporate Sybil resistance and bot mitigation techniques. Common strategies include:
- Allowlists (Whitelists): Pre-verified addresses get exclusive minting windows.
- Proof-of-Humanity Checks: Integration with services like Worldcoin or Captchas.
- Transaction Limits: Gas price caps or max mints per block to reduce front-running.
- Decentralized Sequencers: Using services like Anoma or Flashbots to order transactions fairly. Without these, mints are vulnerable to gas wars and automated sniping bots.
04
Fungible Token Sales & IDOs
Fixed-price models are also used for Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs) and Liquidity Bootstrapping Pools (LBPs) in their initial phase. Platforms like CoinList, Polkastarter, and DAO Maker conduct tiered sales where eligible participants can buy tokens at a fixed rate before they list on secondary markets. This differs from a bonding curve sale, where the price increases as the pool is bought. The fixed-price segment is often followed by a liquidity generation event to seed decentralized exchanges.
06
Risks & Considerations
Participants and creators must account for several risks inherent to the model:
- Smart Contract Risk: Vulnerabilities in the minting contract can lead to fund loss.
- Gas Auction (Gas Wars): During high-demand FCFS mints, users competitively bid up transaction fees.
- Liquidity & Valuation: Post-mint, the token may trade below its mint price if demand is insufficient.
- Centralization Points: Reliance on a single website or minting portal creates a failure point. Due diligence on the project's smart contract audit and mint mechanics is essential.
examples
FIXED-PRICE MINT
Real-World Examples
Fixed-price mints are a foundational mechanism in NFT and token launches, providing predictable pricing and accessibility. These examples illustrate its application across different blockchain ecosystems.
01
Ethereum NFT Launch (ERC-721)
The standard model for NFT collections. A smart contract defines a public sale price (e.g., 0.08 ETH) and a max supply. Users send the exact ETH amount to mint directly from the contract. This ensures price certainty but can lead to gas wars and front-running during high-demand launches. Examples include early PFP projects like Bored Ape Yacht Club, which used a fixed 0.08 ETH mint price.
02
Solana NFT Launch (Metaplex)
Uses the Candy Machine program to manage fixed-price mints. Configurations include:
- Price in SOL or SPL tokens
- Start and end times
- Per-wallet mint limits This structure is highly efficient on Solana due to low fees, allowing for large-scale, accessible drops. Major collections like DeGods and y00ts initially launched using this fixed-price model.
03
Fair Launch Token (ERC-20)
Used for launching fungible tokens without venture capital allocation. A fixed amount of ETH buys a fixed amount of new tokens, often with a hard cap. This creates a level playing field but carries high risk if liquidity isn't secured post-mint. The $SUSHI initial liquidity event is a historic example, where users provided ETH to a contract for a fixed rate of SUSHI tokens.
04
Layer 2 & Alt Chain Adoption
Fixed-price mints are prevalent on chains like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Base due to low transaction costs. This eliminates gas wars as a primary concern, making the model more user-friendly. It's the default for most NFT collections on these networks, enabling broader participation. The model is identical to Ethereum's but executed on a different virtual machine.
05
Allowlist (Whitelist) Integration
A hybrid model where a fixed price is reserved for a pre-approved list of addresses before a public sale. This mitigates bot activity and rewards community members. The mechanics are:
- Allowlist Phase: Fixed-price mint for verified addresses.
- Public Phase: Same fixed price, open to all. This is the most common structure for managing demand in fixed-price launches.
06
Limitations & Risks
The simplicity of fixed-price mints introduces specific risks:
- Gas Wars: On Ethereum, users bid up transaction fees to get included in a block.
- Instant Sell-Out: Bots can snipe supply before real users.
- Post-Mint Liquidity: If the token/NFT isn't immediately listed on a marketplace, holders can be trapped.
- Price Rigidity: Cannot adjust to real-time market demand, potentially leaving money on the table or causing the mint to fail.
security-considerations
FIXED-PRICE MINT
Security Considerations & Risks
While a fixed-price mint offers predictable pricing, it introduces unique attack vectors and operational risks for both project teams and participants. Understanding these risks is critical for secure participation.
01
Centralized Point of Failure
The smart contract managing the mint is a single, critical point of failure. Vulnerabilities such as reentrancy attacks, access control flaws, or integer overflows can lead to the complete loss of funds or unauthorized minting. Rigorous audits and formal verification are essential, but not guarantees.
02
Gas Wars & Front-Running
When demand exceeds supply, participants engage in gas auctions, bidding up transaction fees to get their mint transaction included first. This leads to:
- Wasted ETH on failed transactions.
- MEV (Miner Extractable Value) exploitation by bots via front-running.
- Network congestion and unpredictable costs for all users.
03
Rug Pulls & Exit Scams
Malicious developers can abandon the project after the mint, a rug pull. Risks include:
- Withdrawing liquidity from DEX pools.
- Renouncing contract ownership falsely or retaining admin keys for malicious upgrades.
- Fake KYC/audit reports used to build false confidence.
04
Sybil Attacks & Bot Dominance
Without robust anti-sybil mechanisms, a mint can be dominated by bots. Attackers use hundreds of wallets to:
- Mint a disproportionate share of the collection.
- Defeat per-wallet limits.
- Create artificial scarcity to manipulate the secondary market post-mint.
05
Metadata & Reveal Exploits
The process of revealing NFT metadata post-mint carries risks:
- Centralized metadata: If metadata is stored on a project-controlled server (HTTP URI), it can be changed or taken offline.
- Reveal manipulation: Malicious reveals can assign undesirable traits to specific token IDs, often those held by users who minted early.
06
Financial & Market Risks
Participants face direct financial exposure:
- Impermanent Loss for Teams: If mint revenue is provided as liquidity, teams face DEX LP risks.
- Participant Loss: Mint price may exceed immediate secondary market (floor price), leading to instant paper losses.
- Smart Contract Gas Risks: Complex mint logic can lead to unexpectedly high, failed transactions.
FIXED-PRICE MINT
Common Misconceptions
Clarifying frequent misunderstandings about the mechanics, security, and economic implications of fixed-price NFT mints.
No, a fixed-price mint is not inherently fair. While the price is fixed, the distribution mechanism often determines fairness. A simple first-come, first-served model on a public blockchain is susceptible to gas wars, where bots and sophisticated users pay exorbitant transaction fees to get their transactions processed first, crowding out regular users. True fairness often requires additional mechanisms like allowlists, raffles, or commit-reveal schemes to mitigate these issues. The fixed price alone does not prevent a competitive, inequitable minting environment.
FIXED-PRICE MINT
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Common questions about fixed-price mints, a foundational mechanism for launching NFT collections and token sales on-chain.
A fixed-price mint is a token launch mechanism where assets, typically NFTs, are sold at a predetermined, non-fluctuating price for a set period or until a supply cap is reached. It works by deploying a smart contract that allows users to send a specific amount of cryptocurrency (e.g., 0.1 ETH) in exchange for minting a new token directly from the contract. This is the most common model for NFT collection launches, providing predictable revenue for creators and clear pricing for buyers. The process is often first-come, first-served and does not involve auction mechanics or bonding curves.
Key components include:
- A set mint price in a native token (ETH, SOL).
- A defined max supply or mint limit per wallet.
- A public mint function in the smart contract that validates payment and issues tokens.
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