Presale

A presale is a fundraising stage where a crypto project sells some of its tokens before they are available to the wider public, such as before an exchange listing, public token sale, or mainnet launch. Presales may be open to private investors, community members, allowlist participants, or users who complete certain eligibility steps. The terms often differ from the later public sale, including the token price, purchase limits, lockup period, vesting schedule, and when buyers can claim or transfer tokens.

Presales matter because they can help a project raise capital, test demand, and build an initial user base before launch. For buyers, they can provide earlier access, but they also carry higher uncertainty because the product, market, or token liquidity may not yet exist. For example, a project might sell tokens at $0.05 in a presale with a six-month vesting period, then later offer tokens publicly at $0.08 with immediate claimability. Comparing price alone can be misleading if the presale has restrictions or greater execution risk.