What is a Token Generation Event?
A Token Generation Event (TGE) is the moment of “birth” of a digital asset on a blockchain.
Before that, tokens exist only in documentation; after the TGE they are ready for use. The first on-chain mention—the writing of a smart contract and the issuance of coins—marks the start of a crypto project’s life cycle. These actions can be treated as a legal fact under agreements such as SAFT.
Earlier, the term TGE was used in the context of fundraising and initial coin offerings (ICO). Then, executing token issuance well mattered not only technically but for investor trust: a transparent, thoughtful launch shaped a project’s reputation. Many early blockchain startups suffered precisely because of missteps at the generation and distribution stage.
In current usage, TGE carries no qualitative judgment. It denotes the fact of an asset’s creation—save for rare technical mishaps during the procedure.
What are the stages of a TGE?
The TGE process typically comprises several sequential phases:
- Token creation. Development of a smart contract on Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain and other networks.
- Audit. Independent code review to identify and fix vulnerabilities.
- Allocation. Setting percentage shares among the team, investors, a reserve fund and holders in staking.
- Minting and distribution. Issuing tokens in line with the predefined tokenomics. Vesting (deferred distribution) is often used at this stage.
- Exchange listing (optional). TGEs are often accompanied by listings on CEX or DEX to provide liquidity.
One of the first large TGEs was Ethereum’s in 2015, shortly after its ICO.
In 2023, an airdrop for early users of the L2 network Arbitrum took place. ARB were claimed on request after the TGE. In 2024 the DePIN project Grass Network distributed GRASS with exchange listings to more than a million users.
What forms can a TGE take?
The Web3 researcher Vladimir Menaskop proposes the following TGE taxonomy:
- smart contract on an explorer. Often used for testnets when an asset needs to be claimed quickly;
- a faucet with a front end. Popular at crypto’s dawn; today used mainly for testnets or community tokens;
- airdrops. Used, for example, by Hyperliquid: tokens were credited directly to accounts—the platform’s wallets. A more current approach is a retrodrop via claim on the official site, used by the Optimism and Jupiter teams;
- exchange listings. Listing on CEX and DEX;
- lockers. Via wrappers (for example, wNFT) or otherwise, tokens are placed in storage and remain there until vesting and cliff periods run their course;
- mining. Done with hardware or software such as tap-to-earn apps Hamster Combat or Blum. It monetises actions and then tokenises them.
As the physical act of an asset’s appearance on-chain, the TGE later manifests in various forms of public interaction: with the team, community and investors.
The main types of asset placement after a TGE:
- Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) — primary coin offerings. An ICO is one of the earliest and most popular crowdfunding methods in crypto. A project sells tokens to investors to raise capital, then deploys the proceeds to fund development and execution. Ethereum’s 2014 token presale was done this way;
- Initial DEX Offerings (IDO) — token offerings on DEX. Provide a more decentralised, community‑oriented way to raise funds. Such offerings are typically more accessible and transparent, as they do not depend on centralised structures;
Initial Exchange Offerings (IEO) — token offerings on CEX. Assets are offered to investors directly through a CEX, which acts as an intermediary. On the one hand, this TGE format is considered more reliable, since an exchange usually conducts checks before listing a token. On the other, because of AMM activity a high share of projects is “buried” after listings on trading venues like Binance. Beyond exchanges there are dedicated platforms (launchpads) such as Binance Alpha. They are designed to run IEOs and to participate in them via Web3 wallets.
How is TGE used on Whales Market, Binance Alpha and other platforms?
The crypto market has examples of a pre‑TGE form of selling digital assets—pre‑TGE. The format gained popularity in 2024; one of the first projects in the segment was Whales Market.
Pre‑sale token deals came from traditional finance and can be described by the term Pre‑Market Offerings (PMO). It means the procedure of offering securities to investors before a trading session starts on an exchange.
In essence, this is advance trading in tokens that will become available after the TGE.
The Whales Market marketplace enables trading in tokens announced by projects without public‑market circulation. The process carries higher risk but can offer additional profit.
In late April 2025, the crypto exchange Binance unveiled a new system for participating in TGEs via Binance Wallet and for receiving airdrops—Alpha Points. The latter are awarded for holding assets on the exchange and/or in the wallet and for trading volume on the Binance Alpha platform.
Points accrue daily for activity over the past 15 days. Points older than that expire automatically. A deduction mechanic is also in place—15 Alpha Points are charged for participating in a TGE or receiving an airdrop.
On May 15, 2025, it became known that the aggregator CoinMarketCap had launched a platform for “pre‑TGE campaigns”. CMC Launch focuses on projects that have not yet issued tokens. Users are invited to complete tasks and receive rewards.
How does a TGE affect a project’s subsequent development?
A TGE is not only the moment tokens are created; it is also the starting point for building a project’s economy and community. A successful TGE brings many benefits but also imposes obligations:
- The generated tokens become instruments to incentivise participants—rewarding users, motivating developers and organising governance votes. For example, in DAOs they often confer voting rights.
- Tokens allow a project to access the open market, attracting liquidity and fresh investment. Active trading sustains interest and spurs development.
- Community formation. Token holders become invested in the start‑up’s success, forming a core of loyal users and contributors. This is especially important for teams aiming at decentralised governance and collaboration.
However, a new phase begins after the TGE—support and development. Projects must deliver on promises and advance the product. Without that, even the best‑run generation event may not translate into long‑term success.
Despite its importance, the TGE stage carries many risks that can shape a company’s fate:
- high volatility. In the first days after token generation, prices can swing sharply because of thin liquidity and speculation. Many projects, for example, have faced rapid declines when large holders “dumped” their tokens;
- concentration of tokens among a small group. When a few investors or the team control the supply, the risk of market manipulation rises, breeding community distrust;
- technical errors in smart contracts at the TGE stage can lead to loss of funds;
- regulatory risks. In different jurisdictions tokens may be deemed securities, and conducting a TGE an illegal fundraising. This adds legal uncertainty.