What the exchange actually asks for
Listing agreements and exchange market maker programmes rarely mention volume. They set conditions on the order book itself, usually some combination of these:
| Condition | What it means | Typical wording |
|---|---|---|
| Spread | The gap between the best buy and sell price, as a percentage of the price | "Spread no wider than 1%" |
| Depth | The value of orders resting within a band of the price, on each side | "$10,000 within 2% on both sides" |
| Uptime | How much of the time a real order is on both sides at once | "Two-sided quoting 95% of the time" |
| Time at the best price | How often your market maker holds the top of the book rather than queueing behind others | Less common, but graded in programmes |
Two details catch projects out. Depth is usually judged on the weaker side, so a book that is deep on bids and thin on asks fails even when the total looks right. And the measurement is a sample over time, not a snapshot, so a market maker that goes offline for an hour cannot make it up later.
What to prepare before listing day
- The liquidity clause from your listing agreement. The numbers in it decide everything else, including how much inventory you need.
- A subaccount on the exchange, in your name, holding the tokens and the USDT for the book. It stays yours.
- An API key with trade and read permission only, withdrawals switched off, locked to your market maker's IP address.
- The allocation. Depth is funded by your own inventory, so the commitment you can make follows from what you fund. As a rough rule, holding $10,000 per side within 2% needs about $20,000 of tokens and $20,000 of USDT, plus headroom.
- A decision on who quotes what. If you already have a market maker on another exchange, agree which pair each desk covers.
How we run a listing
Before the pair exists, we test your settings at your planned listing price, so the ladder, the spread and the inventory limits are already sized when trading opens.
On the exchange, we place one tiny test order on your subaccount and cancel it, proving the key, the permissions and the venue's rules before real size goes anywhere near the book.
From the first hour, your portal shows uptime, spread, depth and quote quality, so you and the exchange can both see the book doing what the agreement says.
Our orders are post-only: they add to the book and never take from it. That matters at listing, when a market maker that crosses the spread can chase a thin price around in the first hour.
The first week is the risky one
A new pair has no queue, no history and often one large holder deciding what to do. Three things we hold to during that week:
- No price defence. We provide liquidity; we do not hold a price. A desk that promises a floor is either buying with your treasury until it runs out, or not doing it at all.
- Loss limits on our trading, not your token. A falling token does not make us pull the book. Only a collapse past the floor in your agreement stops quoting, and then a person decides.
- No manufactured volume. Exchanges detect self-trading, and the project wears the consequence, not the desk.
What it costs
A listing is normally covered by Launch (one month) if you want to see the book working first, or Growth (three months) when the exchange's programme runs 60 or 90 days. Both cover one pair on one exchange, and the fee is fixed: no performance fee, no share of trading, no token loan and no option on your tokens. We quote it after a liquidity check on your market.
Common questions
How long before listing day should we arrange a market maker?
A week is usually enough to agree targets, fund the subaccount, issue a key and rehearse. Earlier is better if your listing agreement has a liquidity clause you have not read closely yet, because the numbers in it decide how much inventory you need to fund.
Do you need our tokens?
No. The tokens and USDT stay in an exchange subaccount in your name. We trade through an API key with withdrawals switched off, locked to our IP address, which you can revoke at any time.
Can you guarantee the price on listing day?
No, and nobody honestly can. A market maker keeps both sides of the book so people can trade at a fair price. It does not set the price.
What happens if the exchange grades us and we miss?
Targets go in the contract, and a miss in a week earns you a service credit against the next fee. Repeated misses give you the right to exit. You can see how we are tracking any day in your portal rather than waiting for a report.
Start with a liquidity check on your market.
Tell us the token and the exchange. We run our quotes against your live market without placing a single order, and come back with the targets we would commit to and the package that fits. No key, no funds, no obligation.