How much liquidity should I add to my token: full guide with table
Without enough liquidity, you can run into issues like slippage, price volatility, and bot attacks that hit the value of your token. In this post I’ll break down how much you should add depending on your type of project.
While more liquidity is better for your project’s stability, it also comes with risks like opportunity cost and impermanent loss that you should keep in mind, though I won’t be diving into those here.
Below, based on my experience, I’ll walk you through the liquidity tiers that apply across the main blockchains and the recommended numbers for Solana, Base and Ethereum.
Liquidity tiers
No matter which blockchain you launched your Liquidity Pool on, you’ll need to slot your token into one of these tiers. The range you pick will directly impact how investors see the project, price stability, and your exposure to bot attacks.
- Very low liquidity: Experimental or shoestring-budget projects, almost always memecoins or shitcoins. At this level, slippage is high and the risk of bot manipulation is no joke.
- Low liquidity: This is where early-stage projects with a small but active community land. The risk is lower than the previous tier, but token stability is still not guaranteed and prone to swings.
- Moderate liquidity: Projects with a solid base of users that expect steady trading volume. At this level, the price of your token is much more stable and large transactions don’t move the price drastically.
- High liquidity: This is where serious projects start. With this kind of liquidity, price swings are minimal and investors trust the project more.
- Very high liquidity: Reserved for established projects or those backed by major investment. Pools at this size can absorb transactions of any volume without moving the price of the token.
How much liquidity to add to your token on each blockchain
Every blockchain has its own quirks that shape how much liquidity a token actually needs. Below, we’ll show you the recommended liquidity ranges for Solana, Base and Ethereum (L1) across each of the tiers we just covered.
| Tier | Solana (Raydium) | Solana (PumpSwap) | Base | Ethereum | SUI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very low liquidity | 1 – 100 SOL | 1 – 25 SOL | 0.1 – 5 WETH | 0.5 – 10 ETH | 80 – 500 SUI |
| Low liquidity | 101 – 500 SOL | 26 – 125 SOL | 6 – 25 WETH | 11 – 50 ETH | 500 – 3000 SUI |
| Moderate liquidity | 501 – 2,000 SOL | 126 – 500 SOL | 26 – 100 WETH | 51 – 250 ETH | 3000 – 15,000 SUI |
| High liquidity | 2,001 – 10,000 SOL | 501 – 2,500 SOL | 101 – 500 WETH | 251 – 1,000 ETH | 15,000 – 80,000 SUI |
| Very high liquidity | More than 10,000 SOL | More than 2,500 SOL | More than 500 WETH | More than 1,000 ETH | More than 80,000 SUI |
How does liquidity affect your project?
Whichever blockchain you picked, the amount of liquidity in your pool will shape the stability and success of your token. Here’s how the most common liquidity issues can hit your project:
- Slippage (price slippage): If your pool has too little liquidity, the price of the token can swing wildly during a single transaction, which kills the user experience. More liquidity keeps that risk in check.
- Bot sniping: Low-liquidity pools are especially exposed to bots looking to exploit rapid price swings. With deeper liquidity, it’s much harder for bots to manipulate your pool.
- Impermanent loss: This happens when the value of the tokens in your pool shifts significantly. More liquidity softens the blow of impermanent loss, but it’s still a risk you need to keep an eye on, especially in volatile markets.
Should I allocate 100% of the tokens to my liquidity pool?
When you’re figuring out how to create a cryptocurrency, you set an initial supply. Typically, between 40% and 70% of the total token supply is reserved for the pool, and the rest goes to other areas like staking incentives, rewards, or future airdrops.
Conclusion
The amount of liquidity you add to your token is a key factor in its market success, or at the very least in not flopping. On Solana, Base, and Ethereum, liquidity ranges differ, but the principle is the same: the more liquidity, the more trust and stability for your token. That said, make sure you plan your token supply distribution carefully and set aside a portion for future incentives, running airdrops, and project development.
