Summary: Whales Market is a decentralized OTC platform that provides secure, multi-chain trading of illiquid assets, including pre-TGE tokens, vested allocations, and protocol points.
With $2.2 million in revenue from $165 million in transaction volume, Whales Market is the largest platform to buy, sell and trade locked tokens.
Through a fee model and $WHALES staking rewards, the platform incentivizes participation while supporting secure, collateralized trading across over ten blockchains.
What is Whales Market?
Whales Market is a decentralized OTC platform, purpose-built for trading illiquid assets like pre-TGE tokens, vested allocations, and protocol points across multiple blockchains. Developed by the creators of LootBot, it leverages smart contracts to secure funds in escrow, mitigating risks typical in OTC markets like fraud and non-delivery.
Popular tokens, including Grass, EIGEN, and Hyperliquid, have launched on Whales Market’s pre-market, providing investors early access. The platform’s Whale Shield feature requires seller collateral, giving buyers a claim if a seller defaults, adding security in high-stakes trades.
With support for over ten chains and more than 50 active markets, Whales Market serves as a vital tool for investors, founders, and traders seeking trustworthy entry into speculative assets, consolidating trades on a secure, multi-chain marketplace.
Whales Market Products and Features
Whales Market spans three main markets, Pre-Launch, OTC, and Points, each designed for secure trading of illiquid assets, with added protection from its Whale Shield feature. Here’s a breakdown of each.
Pre-Market Token Trading
In the Pre-Market, users can trade allocations of unreleased tokens like Grass, EIGEN, and Hyperliquid before their TGE.
Funds and assets are held in smart contracts, which release them only upon successful settlement, enabling early access to high-potential tokens with minimized counterparty risk.
Points Market
The Points Market facilitates trading of protocol points within a secure, decentralized framework.
Whales Market’s smart contracts allow P2P transactions for point-based assets, providing liquidity for assets often excluded from centralized markets and offering future conversion potential.
Vesting Market
Whales Market’s Vesting Market enables trading of vested allocations before they are fully unlocked. This feature provides liquidity for token holders without waiting out the vesting period, with smart contracts ensuring controlled, risk-mitigated transactions.
Whale Shield Protection
Whale Shield, the platform’s security feature, requires seller collateral, which buyers can claim if a seller defaults. This mechanism mitigates non-delivery risks, adding essential security to Whales Market’s trustless, multi-chain OTC environment.
$WHALES Tokenomics
The $WHALES token drives Whales Market’s ecosystem, with stakers earning 60% of platform fees, 20% supporting development, and 10% allocated to buyback and burn for a deflationary mechanic.
Another 10% rewards $LOOT stakers and $xLOOT holders, linking Whales Market to LootBot’s original community. As LootBot’s governance token, $LOOT entitles holders to a retrospective airdrop of $WHALES upon launch, rewarding early supporters.
Emissions are tied to trading volume KPIs, with $WHALES holders voting on performance targets to keep incentives aligned with actual growth. The team’s commitment is underscored by a 9-month cliff and 36-month vesting for its 9.5% share.
$WHALES Staking
Whales Market distributes 60% of its OTC market fees to $WHALES stakers, rewarding them with $xWHALES tokens. Staking $WHALES grants two main benefits: revenue share and use as collateral across OTC markets.
Here’s how it works:
- Staking Contract Structure: Users deposit $WHALES, receiving $xWHALES in return. This staking contract holds both $WHALES and $xWHALES in a shared pool.
- Rewards Mechanism: As revenue is generated, the contract buys additional $WHALES, adding these to the staking pool. This process gradually increases the value of $xWHALES relative to $WHALES, rewarding long-term stakers.
- Gradual Rewards: Rewards are distributed over time to limit immediate selling pressure on $WHALES, encouraging sustainable staking and price stability.
This dynamic offers $WHALES stakers continuous rewards while reinforcing liquidity and stability within Whales Market’s ecosystem. At time of writing, there are currently over 11.7 million WHALES staked.
Revenue Model for Whales Market
Whales Market has generated $2.2 million in total revenue to date, driven by its strong take rate across $165 million in transaction volume, according to data from Dune. Revenue comes from fees in the Pre-Market, OTC, and Points Markets:
- Pre-Market: Closing an offer incurs a 0.5% fee, while settling buy orders requires a 2.5% platform fee. Buyers also pay a 2.5% fee on transactions to create or fill offers. If buyers cancel due to a seller’s non-compliance, they face a 2.5% cancellation fee.
- OTC Market: A minimal 0.1% fee applies to each listing, whether it’s a buy or sell offer. Sellers fulfilling buy offers pay an additional 0.1% fee on the proceeds.
- Points Market: Actions like closing offers come with a 0.5% fee, while buying, settling, or canceling orders incur a 2.5% fee, applying uniformly across all point transactions.
This fee structure supports Whales Market’s sustainable growth, funding development, reward programs, and providing users with a secure, trustless trading environment across its markets.
Bottom Line
Whales Market is the top decentralized marketplace for trading illiquid assets, providing early access to sought-after tokens, protocol points, and vested allocations across multiple blockchains.
With a sustainable fee model, staking rewards, and smart contract safeguards, Whales Market is built for investors and traders looking for secure, transparent, and flexible OTC trading.