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Understanding these fundamental concepts will help you build with LONG more effectively. Think of this as your reference guide to the building blocks of decentralized markets.

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Core Infrastructure

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Smart Contract

Open-access code on a blockchain that runs exactly as written. Once deployed, it is immutable (cannot be changed) and anyone can interact with it.
Smart contracts are the foundation of LONG’s infrastructure—they execute trades, manage funds, and enforce rules without intermediaries.

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Market

A decentralized exchange venue where users can swap one asset for another.
Why this matters: LONG runs the market logic on-chain, so your app doesn’t need to implement complex trading infrastructure.
You integrate with LONG’s API, and we handle:
  • Order execution
  • Price discovery
  • Settlement
  • Liquidity management

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Assets & Pricing

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Base Asset

Base Asset

The new asset you are launching with LONG. This is what users will buy, trade, and hold.
Example: A musician launching $ARTIST asset for their fanbase.

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Quote Asset

Quote Asset

The asset used to express the price of the base asset. Users swap between base and quote assets.
Example: If $ARTIST is priced in USDC, then USDC is your quote asset—fans pay USDC to buy $ARTIST. 
Base Asset:  $ARTIST
Quote Asset: USDC
Price:       1 $ARTIST = 2.50 USDC

→ Fans pay USDC to buy $ARTIST

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Pricing Across Assets (A → B → C)

If asset A is priced in B, and B is priced in C, then:
price(A in C) = price(A in B) × price(B in C)
Practical example:
  • $ARTIST is priced in USDC
  • USDC is priced in ETH
  • Therefore: price($ARTIST in ETH) = price($ARTIST in USDC) × price(USDC in ETH)
This lets you display values in any unit your audience prefers without changing how trading works under the hood.

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Market Mechanics

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AMM (Always-On Pricing)

Automated Market Maker

A smart contract that continuously offers buy and sell prices. After each trade, balances update and the next price adjusts automatically.
Key benefits:
  • ✅ 24/7 liquidity - Always available for trading
  • ✅ Instant pricing - No need to match buyers and sellers manually
  • ✅ Automatic adjustment - Prices respond to supply and demand

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Liquidity Bootstrapping

Providing enough starting funds so early trades execute smoothly without excessive slippage.
The focus is on securing sufficient amounts of the quote asset to support:
  • Larger two-way trading
  • Sustainable growth over time
  • Stable pricing for early users
Think of it as priming the pump—you need initial liquidity for the market to function properly.

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Launch & Migration

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LONG Dynamic Auction (Launch Mode)

Protected Launch Mechanism

A battle-tested launch system built on AMM mechanics, optimized to gather liquidity quickly and avoid value leakage.
How it works:
1

Set Parameters

Define your price range and target quote amount to collect
2

Price Discovery

Price moves within the range to meet real demand from buyers
3

Reach Target

When the target is reached, auction ends with a fair starting price and adequate liquidity
Key advantage: This approach prevents manipulation and ensures you launch with sufficient liquidity for sustainable trading.
Example configurations: 
Base Asset:        $ARTIST
Quote Asset:       USDC
Price Range:       $1 - $5
Target Collection: 50,000 USDC
Fee:               0.50%

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Migration

Seamless Transition

When the auction completes, remaining BASE plus collected QUOTE automatically move into the regular AMM configuration.
What happens:
  1. ✅ Auction protection is removed
  2. ✅ Full two-way trading is enabled
  3. ✅ Liquidity is deployed for sustainable growth
  4. ✅ Market continues without constraints
Migration happens automatically—no manual intervention required.

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Revenue & Fees

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Trading Fees

Revenue Model

Each trade includes a small percentage you set (e.g., 0.50%). The fee is taken from what the buyer pays.
Fee distribution: 
User Pays:       1000 USDC
Platform Fee:    2.50 USDC (0.25%)
Creator Fee:     2.50 USDC (0.25%)
Actual Swap:     995 USDC → ~398 $ARTIST
Dual revenue streams: Earn from trading fees and retain asset supply for potential upside.

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Next Steps

Quickstart

Start building with LONG APIs

Getting Started

Deep dive into REST API integration

Asset Contract

Learn about asset management

Auction Contract

Explore auction mechanics