> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.kumbaya.xyz/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.kumbaya.xyz/launchpad/bonding-curves.md).

# How bonding curves and graduation work

Every token launched on Kumbaya goes through two phases: **bonding** and **graduated**. The mechanics aren't complicated, but they affect how your token trades and how creators earn - so it's worth understanding.

## The bonding phase

When a token launches, the protocol seeds its pool with a stack of overlapping liquidity positions. As people buy, they consume liquidity in the lower price ranges first, which makes the price go up. As people sell, the same in reverse - price goes down.

This is what people mean by **bonding curve**: early buyers get a better price, and the price moves predictably as more tokens are bought. There's no "hidden" liquidity sitting somewhere else - what you see in the pool is what you get.

Two things to know:

* **You're trading on a normal Uniswap pool.** Buying a bonding-phase token is just a swap. You'll see it in the same swap UI as any other token. The "curve" is a property of how liquidity is laid out, not a separate AMM.
* **There's a "tail" position sitting above the graduation tick.** Once the price hits the graduation tick, the token is eligible to graduate - but the actual graduation transaction has to be triggered, and there's a short grace period before just anyone can call it. If buyers push the price *past* the graduation tick during that window, the tail is what keeps the token tradeable: it provides liquidity above the curve so trades don't fail. The tail is intentionally thin (it's there as a safety net, not a deep market), so trades in that range move price sharply until graduation finalizes and the pool consolidates into one full-range position.

![A graduated token's detail page, showing the gold border and "Grad" pill](/files/6iZCCPfJq7E54Xyb9IIz)

## Graduation

Each token has a **graduation tick** - a specific price level. When the price reaches that level (i.e. enough buying pressure has lifted the token there), the token is eligible to graduate.

Graduation is a one-time event that:

1. **Burns the bonding-curve positions.** The stacked liquidity is dismantled.
2. **Mints one big full-range Uniswap V3 position** with the recovered liquidity.
3. **Hands that position to a contract called `FireStream`**, which collects fees from then on and distributes them between protocol recipients and the creator.
4. **Starts the Tip Jar burn countdown** (1–90 days, set by Kumbaya governance) for any *user-side* tip credits that were never sent to a creator. Tips already received by creators are protected.

After graduation, the token trades like any other Uniswap V3 token. The pool address doesn't change; the liquidity layout does.

## How long does graduation take?

It depends entirely on how much demand the token gets. Some tokens graduate in hours, some never do. **Force graduation** is also a thing: if a token's been around long enough (governance-configurable, with a hard floor of 90 days), anyone can trigger graduation manually so the token can transition out of the bonding state regardless.

## Why graduation matters to traders

* **Before graduation**, a swap moves price along the curve. Trades feel "thicker" near the launch tick (lots of liquidity, small impact) and "thinner" near the graduation tick (less liquidity, more impact per dollar).
* **After graduation**, trades behave like any other V3 pool - price impact depends on whatever organic LPs have added at relevant ticks, plus the full-range graduated position. There's usually plenty of liquidity around the price the token graduated at.

If you're trading a token that's *close to* graduation, expect a flurry of activity around the actual graduation event (the tx that calls `graduate`) - people watching the curve often pile in just before.

## Why graduation matters to creators

This is where the economics shift hardest:

* **Pre-graduation, creators don't earn trading fees.** Pre-grad fees flow to the protocol treasury and to Kumbaya as the integrator. Creators earn during this phase from **tips** that buyers send them.
* **Post-graduation, creators earn a share of every trade** through `FireStream`. That income keeps flowing as long as people trade your token, in both ETH and your own token.

Full breakdown: [**Creator fees**](/launchpad/creator-fees.md).

## What about the curve parameters - can a creator pick them?

On Kumbaya's UI, **no** - the curve range, fee tier, position count, and vesting duration are set to chain-level defaults so every launch behaves consistently. Creators get to pick name, symbol, image, prompt, social links, and (optionally) an initial buy. Power users who want non-default parameters can launch by calling the launchpad contracts directly (see the [developer docs](https://github.com/Kumbaya-xyz/documentation/tree/main/developer/launchpad/launching.md)).

## Where to next

* [**Launching your own token →**](/launchpad/launch-a-token.md)
* [**Creator fees →**](/launchpad/creator-fees.md)
* [**If your token shows as Unclaimed →**](/launchpad/unclaimed-tokens.md)