Launch Your Token Sale on Moonsale
This guide covers everything from creating your token to running a presale or fair launch and distributing tokens to your investors.
Getting Started
Before you launch, you need a few things ready. Moonsale supports both Standard Presales (fixed price, hardcap) and Fair Launches (market-determined price, no hardcap). Make sure you have all of the following before you start.
Creating a Token
If you do not have a token yet, you can create one directly on Moonsale using the Token Generator. Go to Developer Tools in the sidebar and click Token Generator.
Creating a Presale
A standard presale has a fixed token price, a softcap, and a hardcap. Investors pay a known price and receive tokens when you finalize. Click Create Presale in the sidebar.
Creating a Fair Launch
A fair launch has no fixed token price and no hardcap. Contributors pool native tokens together and the final token price is determined at finalization based on total raised divided by the token pool. This is ideal for projects that want a fully community-driven price discovery. Click Create Fair Launch in the sidebar.
Listing Fee
After deploying a presale or fair launch, you must pay a listing fee before your sale page becomes publicly visible. The fee is charged in the native token of whichever chain you deploy on (BNB on BSC, ETH on Ethereum/Sepolia).
Presale Settings Explained
Here is what each presale setting means so you can fill in the form confidently.
For fair launches the key settings are Token Pool (how many tokens go up for sale) and Softcap (minimum raise for the sale to succeed). There is no token price or hardcap.
Unsold Token Handling
When you create a presale, you deposit enough tokens to cover hardcap (presale allocation + liquidity allocation). If your sale ends between softcap and hardcap, some of those tokens were never sold. You pick what happens to them at create-time via the Unsold tokens at finalize radio in Step 2 of the wizard. The choice is recorded on-chain in the presale contract and cannot be changed after deployment.
0x000...dEaD at finalize. Effectively reduces total supply. Emits UnsoldTokensBurned(amount). Best signal to investors that you are not retaining undistributed supply for later use. Pick this when in doubt.UnsoldTokensRefunded(creator, amount). Pick this if you have a concrete plan for the recovered supply (staking rewards, marketing budget, partnerships). Be ready to disclose that plan publicly, otherwise investors may read it as a soft pre-mint.UnsoldTokensLocked(amount). Functionally close to Burn since the tokens cannot move, but the supply is still technically counted on chain. Same behavior as the v1 contract. Older presales deployed before this feature shipped show as Lock (legacy) in the UI.withdrawCreatorTokens() recovery flow regardless of this setting.Finalizing Your Sale
After your sale ends and the softcap is reached, you need to finalize it manually from My Launches. Finalization adds liquidity to the DEX and makes tokens claimable for contributors. The process is the same for both presales and fair launches.
Cancel and Withdraw
If you have deployed a presale or fair launch but have not yet paid the listing fee (status is Pending), you can cancel it and withdraw your deposited tokens. You can also cancel an Active sale that has not yet reached its softcap.
Token Lock
The Token Lock tool lets you lock any tokens (your own allocation or a team wallet) for a fixed period. This is separate from liquidity locking and is used to show investors that team tokens will not be sold early. Go to Token Lock in Developer Tools.
Once locked, the tokens are held by the contract until the unlock date. Each lock has a shareable detail page at /token-lock/[lockId]. On the Token Lock page, your active locks appear under My Locks with a View Lock button on each card that opens its detail page directly.
Token Vesting
Token Vesting locks tokens and releases them gradually over time using a TGE unlock, cliff, and linear vesting model. Ideal for team allocations, advisor grants, and any situation where you want to prove long-term commitment. Go to Token Vesting in Developer Tools.
Tokenomics Creator
The Tokenomics Creator is an AI-powered tool that generates a professional tokenomics allocation table and donut chart that you can export as a PDF. Use it to communicate your token distribution to investors before launch. Go to Tokenomics Creator in Developer Tools.
KYC and Audit
Moonsale lets you apply for KYC (identity verification) and Smart Contract Audit badges that appear on your presale or fair launch page. These badges significantly increase investor confidence. Go to KYC and Audit in the sidebar.
Security Score
Every project gets an automatic Security Score visible on its detail page. Investors use it to evaluate your launch before contributing, so understanding how it works helps you plan a launch that scores high without gaming the system.
The score is out of 50 across eleven categories. Critical-tier checks (Liquidity Lock, Team Token Lock, Contract Verified) carry the heaviest weight. To maximize your score:
- Lock LP for 365+ days, the heaviest category, full 8 pts.
- Lock team tokens for 365+ days via the MoonSale Locker, another 8 pts. If you have no team allocation, the check is N/A.
- Use a token deployed via the MoonSale token factory, auto-verified on BscScan, full 8 pts on Contract Verified.
- Allocate ≥ 55% of supply to presale + liquidity combined, full 5 pts.
- Set liquidity ≥ 85% of raised funds, full 5 pts.
- Get KYC verified and submit an audit, 10 pts combined.
- Fill all four social fields (Twitter, Telegram, Website, Logo), full 1 pt.
- Set softcap ≥ 50 BNB, full 1 pt.
For the full list of categories with exact thresholds and the math behind every check, see the Security Score Methodology page.
Fees
Here is a breakdown of the fees involved when launching on Moonsale. All fees are paid in the native token of the chain you are using (BNB on BSC, ETH on Ethereum/Sepolia).
Tips for a Successful Launch
Here are some things that make presales and fair launches succeed on Moonsale.