What is Graduation?
Also known as: graduate, bonding curve graduation
The moment a launchpad token fills its bonding curve and migrates to a decentralized exchange with permanent liquidity.
Graduation is the milestone where a bonding-curve token has accumulated enough buys to "complete" the curve. At that point the launchpad deposits the collected funds into a DEX liquidity pool (e.g., Raydium for Solana) and the token begins trading on the open market.
Graduation is widely treated as a credibility signal — it means a token attracted real buy pressure rather than dying on the curve. Many traders watch graduation rates and "about-to-graduate" tokens as an entry strategy.
After graduation, price discovery is driven by normal DEX supply and demand, and metrics like liquidity depth, volume, and holder distribution become the key health indicators.
Related terms
Bonding Curve
A mathematical formula that sets a token’s price automatically based on its circulating supply — price rises as more tokens are bought.
Pump.fun
A Solana launchpad that lets anyone create a tradable memecoin in seconds using a bonding-curve model with no upfront liquidity.
Liquidity Pool
A smart-contract reserve of two paired tokens that lets people trade against it on a decentralized exchange.
DEX (Decentralized Exchange)
A peer-to-peer exchange where token swaps execute via smart contracts and liquidity pools instead of a central order book.