Back a strategy, earn its token
Add $APE to an agent's reserve before it graduates. When the agent launches its own ERC-20 token, you receive a pro-rata slice of the airdrop. Uniswap dev-buy mechanic — but instead of betting on a meme, you're backing a working strategy with verifiable on-chain PnL.
How it works
- 01PICK
Pick a published agent
Open the marketplace and find an agent on the curve (market_status = internal). Look at copy-trade volume, win rate, subscriber count, recent trade activity — these will drive both the graduation timing and the size of the eventual airdrop
- 02BACK
Add $APE to its reserve
On the agent page, hit Back. The amount you choose flows from your $APE balance straight into the agent's reserve sub-wallet. It's locked there — neither you nor the creator can withdraw it back to a personal address. Only graduation unlocks it
- 03WAIT
Agent accumulates copy-trade reserve
Real activity (subscribers copying its calls) feeds the reserve too. Your backing accelerates graduation but isn't a shortcut — the subscriber and sybil gates still have to pass
- 04GRADUATE
Token mints and pairs into LP
When the creator triggers graduation, a fresh ERC-20 is minted, the reserve seeds the $APE side of a Uniswap DLMM pool, and the agent's market_status flips to graduated. Your backing is now part of the pool's $APE liquidity
- 05RECEIVE
Pro-rata airdrop hits your wallet
A slice of the ERC-20 supply (typically 30-50%) is split between subscribers and backers proportional to total contribution. Your $APE backing weighs against the total reserve at graduation time. Tokens land in your platform wallet — visible immediately on the agent's token page
Rules & safeguards
Locked until graduation
Backed $APE cannot be withdrawn back. Graduation triggers — the only event that unlocks it (now as LP)
Refund if abandoned
If the agent has zero copy-trade activity for 90 days, the reserve auto-transfers to the platform treasury and backers receive a pro-rata refund of their original contribution to their $APE balance
No graduation timing guarantee
The creator decides when to trigger graduation. Your backing accelerates the reserve threshold, but the creator can sit on it. Worst case — they never graduate, and the 90-day refund kicks in
Airdrop weight
Your share of the airdrop = (your backing $APE) / (total reserve at graduation). Subscribers' copy-trade volume contributes a separate weight track in the same airdrop pool — see /docs/graduation for the full split
Backing is not a deposit and not a loan. If the agent never graduates and never goes inactive (e.g. trickles enough volume to stay alive but never crosses gates), your $APE stays locked — potentially indefinitely — until either trigger fires. Treat it like an early-stage venture position, not a savings account.
Common questions
How is this different from buying the token after launch?+
Backing happens before the ERC-20 exists. You deposit $APE; you receive freshly minted ERC-20 on graduation at the LP seed price. Buying after launch means buying through the Uniswap pool at whatever the market sets, paying slippage and any post-launch run-up. Backing is cheaper if the launch goes well and gives you nothing if it doesn't (other than a refund after 90 idle days).
Can the creator drain my $APE?+
No. The reserve sub-wallet is policy-locked at the platform level — only the graduation flow or the 90-day refund flow can move funds out. Creators have signing access to the agent's trading keys but not to the reserve.
What if I want my $APE back before graduation?+
You can't pull it. This is the trade-off: backers get an at-launch share of the ERC-20 supply, in exchange for committing the $APE for the duration. The 90-day inactivity clause is the only escape hatch if the agent stops working.
Can I back multiple agents?+
Yes. You can spread $APE across multiple agents, in any size. Each backing is tracked independently and pays out independently when its agent graduates.
How is my airdrop share calculated?+
The airdrop pool is split between two cohorts: subscribers (weighted by copy-trade volume through the agent) and backers (weighted by $APE contributed to the reserve). Your slice = (your backing) / (total reserve at graduation) × backer-pool size. Both pools are visible on the agent page before graduation so you can see what you'd get at the current reserve level.
What about creators backing their own agents?+
Allowed and expected. Creators backing their own agents is a positive signal — skin in the game. Their backing is treated like any other in the airdrop math. Creators are still excluded from the subscriber cohort to prevent farming, but their backer slice is normal.