The Believe Founders Guide: Extended Edition
This guide is important for anyone who plans to launch a token on Believe, and anyone who has already launched a token.
Pre-Launch: Foundation Building
Project Validation
Have a product that is useful and will have paying customers
Get advisors that are very familiar with Crypto. (Ideally friends of yours)
Create a roadmap of features you want to build into your product.
Decide if it really makes sense to have a token. You likely dont need a token to build your app, but the token will help give you funds to build your app, so figure out how to integrate your token before launching.
Token Value Accrual Strategy Your token must create meaningful value for its holders to foster speculation and price discovery. How will your token capture and distribute value as your company grows? Take Hyperliquid as a case study: Hyperliquid allocates 100 % of protocol revenue from trading fees to its Assistance Fund, which is used to buy and burn the $HYPE token. This effectively functions as a perpetual buyback program, aligning long-term token value with platform usage. The more volume the exchange processes, the more funds go toward reducing supply. It’s the closest thing to on-chain tokenized equity we have seen. It’s also completely legal to operate this way.
Buybacks / Supply Burns and dividends are two roads to the same destination: they both hand profits back to holders. Whether a project spends profits to buy-and-burn its own tokens or pays those profits out directly, each holder’s share of the project’s value rises by the same amount.
Some approaches ranked best to worst:
Tie utility to core product features (e.g. credits, access) - best option for US companies
Have users buy the token and burn part of the token when they use the product - this has the same dividend-like effect on the price but with much less risk of being seen as a security.
Use company profits to buyback tokens – check with lawyers first (likely illegal in most western countries because it makes you a security) *Speak with your lawyer about your token integration to make sure its legal*
Traders want Internet Capital Markets – they don’t want governance tokens or memecoins. They want tokens that directly benefit from the financial success of the associated app/company. Snipe Yourself You should secure some of your own supply during launch. Believe currently makes it hard for creators to acquire significant supply. You’ll earn about 10-15% of the supply via fees, but for more you must buy on the open market. Sniping is the best way.
Use a fresh wallet not easily linked to your public identity
Buy a good portion of the supply
Never dump your sniped position; use it for exchanges or incentives
Winding Down Gracefully Not every project lasts forever. If you need to shut down:
Communicate clearly with your holders
Consider burning the treasury or transferring governance to the community
Do not ghost or disappear – it damages credibility
Settle any tax obligations and document everything
If you launch a new token, snapshot holders and airdrop pro-rata
Ignore trolls; bagholders assumed risk when buying the token Projects that end gracefully still earn respect.
Tax Considerations You will owe taxes on protocol revenue and token sales.
Consult a crypto-savvy accountant early
Creator fees are likely taxable as income
Token sales can incur capital gains
Consider an LLC and separate founder / treasury wallets Planning ahead avoids surprises.
Treasury Management Treat your treasury as sacred.
Use multisig wallets (Squads, Gnosis) with trusted signers
Convert Solana fees to USDC regularly to avoid drawdowns and cover expenses/taxes
Off-ramp via spherepay (0.1% fee, but very fast and easy to use) or Coinbase free USDC off-ramp
Put creator fees in your company bank account
Legal Communication Guidelines Founders must avoid statements which regulators view as investment advice. Never: say price will go up, promise returns/dividends, talk price, use “buy/moon/financial advice,” or trade on private info. When in doubt, stay silent and ask a lawyer.
X Community Setup Create an X (Twitter) Community.
Share updates, answer questions, gather feedback
Pin it to your profile
Moderate actively for scammers/spammers
Post-Launch Sustainability
You should tweet at least 3 × per day; remind people what you’re building. Include your $TICKER regularly and balance tech updates with engagement.
Marketing Budget • Organic > ads; avoid paid shills; fund quality content and incentives
Founder Psychology • Expect volatility; don’t stare at chart; keep long view • Seek founder support; separate self-worth from price
Handling Criticism • Filter noise vs feedback; respond professionally
Common Pitfalls • Silence in crises, over-promising, inconsistent messaging • Launching with bugs, poor security, inadequate moderation
Launch Readiness Checklist
Pre-launch have:
Telegram ready, site/bios updated, tweets drafted, advisors alerted
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