$FACTORY

$FACTORY is a utility and coordination token for App Factory. It exists to align builders with the long-term success of the platform, make participation measurable and spam-resistant, and fund growth in a way that benefits the entire ecosystem.

The primary use of $FACTORY today is minting builder profiles—on-chain credentials that create a persistent, verifiable identity tied to your wallet. Additional integrations across the App Factory platform will use $FACTORY over time.

Builder profiles are minted, not created. Minting ties your identity to your wallet and produces a soulbound credential that cannot be transferred. This ensures profiles represent genuine builders, not speculators.

Minting is intentionally costly. The cost signals commitment and prevents spam. If minting were free, the ecosystem would be flooded with low-quality profiles. The cost filters for builders who are serious about participating.

Progressive Pricing

Profile mints follow a simple formula: Mint #N costs $N USD worth of $FACTORY at the current market rate.

• Mint #1 costs $1
• Mint #10 costs $10
• Mint #100 costs $100
• Mint #1,000 costs $1,000

Early builders pay less. As the ecosystem grows and more profiles are minted, the cost increases. This rewards early participation without creating artificial scarcity mechanisms.

Burns

100% of $FACTORY used for profile mints is burned—permanently removed from circulation. The burn address is immutable and verifiable on-chain. Tokens sent there cannot be retrieved by anyone.

Fees generated by App Factory are currently used for:

• Marketing and distribution that drives traffic directly to the App Factory Showcase
• Visibility and downloads for apps built with App Factory
• Builder acquisition and ecosystem growth
• Infrastructure and operations required to ship and maintain the platform

This marketing spend benefits both builders and token holders. More traffic means more app discovery, which means more profile value, which means more mint demand. The interests are aligned.

Fees are not currently used for buybacks or discretionary burns. This is intentional at the current stage. Early-stage ecosystems benefit more from growth investment than from financial engineering. Directing fees toward real demand generation—apps, users, builders—aligns all participants better than artificial price support would.

Price discovery is left to open markets intentionally. There is no market making, no liquidity mining, and no protocol-owned reserves.

This is a deliberate choice. Early builders and aligned participants should be able to acquire access at fair market prices determined by actual supply and demand. Price should reflect delivery, usage, and ecosystem traction over time—not artificial intervention.

Marketing-driven demand for real apps is preferred over artificial price support. When the Showcase drives downloads, when builders ship products, when users find value—that creates sustainable demand. Buyback programs and treasury games do not.

The absence of buybacks today does not mean they will never be introduced. Buybacks and other mechanisms may be enabled later if and when they align with platform incentives.

Any such change would be deliberate, considered, and communicated. The current approach prioritizes growth and builder acquisition. That priority may evolve as the ecosystem matures.

$FACTORY aligns builders, apps, and distribution. Fees are used to grow demand, not engineer charts. Participation is earned through shipping. Token mechanics follow platform reality, not hype.

If you build apps with App Factory and want to be part of the ecosystem, mint a profile. If you want exposure to the platform's success, acquire $FACTORY at fair market prices. Either way, you're participating in something designed to reward builders who ship.