Virtuals Launches "60-Day Trial": No need to risk your assets to issue tokens, full refund if unsuccessful

This is a reversible tokenization experiment framework that allows serious AI builders to test crypto-native distribution and monetization methods without taking on irreversible risks.

Author: Virtuals Protocol

Translation: Deep潮 TechFlow

Deep潮 Guide: Early founders often have to put their entire reputation on the line when issuing tokens, making irreversible commitments before market demand is validated. The “60 Days” framework introduced by Virtuals Protocol completely changes this: founders publicly build for 60 days, during which funds are accumulated through transaction fees and optional growth allocations, but the founders retain full control — at the end, they can choose to commit to continue or exit and return all funds to token holders. This is a reversible tokenization experiment framework that enables serious AI builders to test crypto-native distribution and monetization without bearing irreversible risks.

Full Text:

Early founders are often forced to invest significant personal and reputational capital before validating market demand. Traditional accelerators, venture capital, and token launches typically require early commitments with limited feedback loops.

The 60-day plan introduces an experimental pathway

Founders publicly build for 60 days, real users discover the product during this period, and capital is accumulated through transaction fees and optional Growth Allocation.

At the end of the window, founders decide whether to commit. If they commit, the token continues to exist, and the raised funds are unlocked over time for further growth and development. If they do not commit, the token is liquidated, and all raised funds are returned to token holders.

The 60 Days framework is based on five core principles:

  1. Founder Sovereignty: Founders retain full control over whether to commit or exit at the end of the 60-day window. Nothing is automatically unlocked.
  2. Market Testing: Demand is formed through real user behavior and voluntary support.
  3. Reversibility Design: Each launch begins in a fully reversible state. Closure is an expected and reasonable outcome, not a failure condition.
  4. Reputation Protection: If the project liquidates, all raised funds are returned to supporters, and the founder’s reputation remains intact. No permanent on-chain blemishes.
  5. Risk and Reward Transparency: Supporters back genuine progress, not promises. Founders can only access capital after choosing to commit. Upside and downside are transparently shared.

Operation Mechanism of the 60 Days Plan

Each participating founder enters a 60-day period of open building and testing.

During this time, founders need to:

  • Regularly build and release product updates
  • Interact with users and gather feedback
  • Iterate, adjust direction, and publish progress reports
  • Maintain transparent metrics
  • Participate in community review

At the end of Day 60, founders must declare one of two outcomes:

  • Commit: Transition to long-term development
  • Do not commit: If the project liquidates, all accumulated funds will be refunded

Launching 60 Days

Projects can launch a public token using a standardized bonding curve. Tokens can be traded during the build and test phase. Pricing dynamically adjusts based on demand. All 60 Days launches are conducted on the BASE network. Initially, projects run in a private pool. Once total trading volume reaches 42,000 VIRTUAL, liquidity migrates to Uniswap V2 pool, enabling open market access.

Token holders can participate in project milestones and performance, but if the founder does not commit, they are still protected through a refund mechanism.

Token Economics Model

The economic model of 60 Days is primarily designed to support the founder’s long-term sustainability while aligning incentives with supporters.

It consists of three core components:

  • Trading Tax
  • Automated Capital Formation (ACF)
  • Growth Allocation (GA)

Founders also receive support during the 60 days through these mechanisms.

Trading Tax

All token transactions incur a 1% trading fee.

  • 30% allocated to the protocol
  • 70% allocated to the founder (Founder Trading Tax)

The founder’s share is locked during the experiment and only released after commitment.

If the founder does not commit, this allocation is redirected to the refund pool.

This mechanism rewards founders who complete the plan and prevents uncommitted launches.

Automated Capital Formation (ACF)

ACF is an automated financing mechanism that continuously allocates capital to founders based on market participation and trading activity.

  • Released ACF funds are used for operational expenses, infrastructure, and early expansion
  • Unreleased ACF allocations remain locked and are not included in refunds until officially released

ACF enables founders to raise funds gradually without relying on traditional funding rounds.

More details about ACF can be found in related documentation.

Growth Allocation (GA)

Founders can choose to open a Growth Allocation (GA) pool, funded from the sale of up to 5% of their team allocation tokens. Participants deposit USDC in exchange for token allocations at a fixed public FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) determined by the founder.

Funds in the GA pool are held in escrow until the commitment outcome is determined. If the founder does not commit, all funds are fully refunded.

If the founder commits, the GA funds are subject to a six-month vesting period. After commitment, GA tokens are linearly released over 6 months.

If the founder does not commit, all GA funds are refunded, and vesting is canceled. This structure protects founders and early supporters from short-term speculation.

Allowance Mechanism

To support founders during the 60 days, founders will receive an allowance. Every 30 days (Day 30 and Day 60), founders receive 10% of the current collected funds (from transaction tax income and released ACF), capped at 5,000 USDC.

Example: Day 30 Calculation:

  • Total collected from founder transaction tax income and any released ACF: 35,000 USDC
  • 10% calculation: 35,000 × 0.10 = 3,500 USDC
  • Cap check: 3,500 < 5,000 cap
  • Founder allowance payout: 3,500 USDC

Day 60 Calculation:

  • Total collected from founder transaction tax income and any released ACF: 58,000 USDC
  • 10% calculation: 58,000 × 0.10 = 5,800 USDC
  • Cap check: 5,800 > 5,000 cap
  • Founder allowance payout: 5,000 USDC (hit cap)

At 60 Days: Outcomes

Handling of Founder Commitment

Founders can choose to commit at any time during the 60-day trial. Once sufficient traction and validation are achieved, early commitment is permitted.

If the founder commits:

  • Transaction fee distribution is immediately released to the founder’s wallet
  • Released ACF funds are unlocked
  • Growth allocation (if any) vesting schedule begins
  • Participant allocations become active
  • Long-term infrastructure and distribution support are activated
  • Project transitions to ongoing development

Commitment indicates the founder is ready for long-term execution and accountability.

Proportional Distribution of Growth Allocation

Distribution is proportional to each participant’s contribution to the growth pool. If the pool is oversubscribed, allocations are proportionally adjusted, and any unused USDC is automatically refunded.

Proportional Allocation Calculation

Each participant receives a proportionate share based on their USDC contribution:

Example

Available growth allocation pool: 50,000 tokens

GA token price: 0.20 USDC per token

Maximum raise: 50,000 × 0.20 = 10,000 USDC

Total USDC committed by all participants: 15,000 USDC

Participant Contribution Example

Alice commits 5,000 USDC | requests 25,000 tokens at 0.20 USDC

Bob commits 4,000 USDC | requests 20,000 tokens at 0.20 USDC

Carol commits 3,500 USDC | requests 17,500 tokens at 0.20 USDC

Dave commits 2,500 USDC | requests 12,500 tokens at 0.20 USDC

Total: 15,000 USDC | requests 75,000 tokens

Since total requested tokens (75,000) exceed the available pool (50,000), oversubscription is 150% (75,000 ÷ 50,000).

All participants will receive tokens at the same fixed price of 0.20 USDC per token.

Proportional Distribution Example

Alice:

Proportion: 5,000 ÷ 15,000 = 33.33%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.3333 = 16,667 tokens

USDC used: 16,667 × 0.20 = 3,333 USDC

Refund: 5,000 - 3,333 = 1,667 USDC

Bob:

Proportion: 4,000 ÷ 15,000 = 26.67%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.2667 = 13,333 tokens

USDC used: 13,333 × 0.20 = 2,667 USDC

Refund: 4,000 - 2,667 = 1,333 USDC

Carol:

Proportion: 3,500 ÷ 15,000 = 23.33%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.2333 = 11,667 tokens

USDC used: 11,667 × 0.20 = 2,333 USDC

Refund: 3,500 - 2,333 = 1,167 USDC

Dave:

Proportion: 2,500 ÷ 15,000 = 16.67%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.1667 = 8,333 tokens

USDC used: 8,333 × 0.20 = 1,667 USDC

Refund: 2,500 - 1,667 = 833 USDC

Handling of Non-commitment Scenario

If the founder does not commit:

  • End of the trial period
  • Liquidity pool is closed
  • Token issuance stops
  • Refund mechanism is triggered
  • Accumulated funds are distributed to eligible token holders

In this case, the project is officially closed within the 60 Days framework, and no further capital is released.

Refund Mechanism

If the founder does not commit, remaining funds are distributed from the accumulated pool to eligible token holders.

Funds are accumulated from three sources:

Accumulated funds = Released ACF funds + Founder transaction tax + remaining $VIRTUAL in LP

Founder transaction tax = 70% of the collected 1% transaction fee

How refunds are calculated

Total refunds consist of funds from two sources:

Refunds from released ACF and founder transaction tax

This portion is calculated based on your share of the total eligible holdings:

Refund (from released ACF + founder transaction tax) = (Your token holdings / total eligible holdings) × (Released ACF funds + founder transaction tax)

Refunds from liquidity pool ($VIRTUAL)

This portion is based on remaining $VIRTUAL in the liquidity pool. Your share is proportional to your holdings relative to total eligible holdings, including the team’s initial purchase:

Refund (LP $VIRTUAL) = (Your token holdings / total eligible holdings including team initial purchase) × remaining $VIRTUAL in LP

Eligible holdings

Only the following balances are included in refund calculations:

  • Tokens purchased through public sale
  • Holdings at snapshot time from ecosystem airdrops

Excluded from refunds

  • Team reserved tokens
  • Unreleased ACF allocations
  • Tokens from buybacks

Tokens obtained from the team’s initial purchase are only eligible for refunds from the liquidity pool, not from ACF or transaction fee refunds.

Important Notes

⚠️ Refunds are distributed proportionally based on ownership at the snapshot time.

⚠️ Due to potential fluctuations in funds during the 60 days, full refunds are not guaranteed.

⚠️ Please review project details and risks before participating.

Refunds depend on available funds and are not guaranteed to be full.

Reducing Risks in Market Building

For trusted AI founders, token issuance has historically required disproportionate reputation exposure. Traditional models enforce early, irreversible commitments before product-market fit is validated. Once launched, expectations become fixed, capital is immediately unlocked, and regardless of results, reputational consequences persist.

This dynamic hampers serious builders.

The 60 Days framework aims to substantially reduce this risk.

It creates a structured experimental window where experimentation is expected, reversibility is built-in, and commitments are voluntary. Founders can test distribution, validate demand, and iterate quickly without permanently anchoring their reputation to unfinished products. Capital accumulates transparently, but access to that capital remains contingent on explicit commitment decisions.

This is especially important for high-level AI teams, whether building agent infrastructure, robotic systems, or coordination layers. It allows them to leverage crypto-native distribution and monetization methods without bearing irreversible downside risks early in research and product development.

Conversely, supporters back observable progress rather than static promises. If confidence grows, the project transitions to ongoing development. If confidence wanes, funds are refunded, and reputational damage is minimized.

The 60 Days framework redefines tokenization from a one-way launch event into a reversible experimental structure.

In doing so, it aligns capital formation with the actual ways serious AI innovation happens: iterative, open, responsible, and conditional.

aGDP.

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