Guide
How NFT launchpads work
Quick answer: an NFT launchpad deploys a collection's contract, runs its mint in phases, manages the allowlist and hosts the mint page. A curated launchpad also reviews collections before listing them. This guide explains each part using Elevate on Bittensor EVM as the concrete example.
Who this is for
Collectors deciding whether to mint through a launchpad, and creators deciding whether to use one rather than deploying alone.
What a launchpad does
Contract deployment
Deploys the collection's NFT contract — on Elevate, a per-collection ERC-721A named after the collection.
Mint phases
Runs allowlist, reserved and public phases with their own price, supply and wallet limits.
Allowlist management
Tracks eligible wallets and proves eligibility to the contract — on Elevate, with per-wallet signatures.
Mint page
A public page with status, price, supply, minted count and the mint button.
Monitoring
Reads the contract during the mint so the page shows live progress.
Post-mint
Reveal, transfer unlock and hand-off to secondary trading.
Curated versus open
An open launchpad lets anyone deploy and list; the platform makes no claim about what is listed. A curated launchpad reviews before listing. On Elevate that review covers the team, the originality of the artwork, the integrity of the contract configuration, the accuracy of the published collection information and launch readiness. The listing is the signal; the criteria are public.
A launch, start to finish
- Creator applies
- Launchpad reviews
- Contract deployed and verified on the explorer
- Allowlist phase
- Public phase
- Reveal
- Transfers unlocked; marketplace opens
How to judge a launchpad
Is it non-custodial?
Mints should go from your wallet to the collection contract. If the platform holds funds or tokens in between, ask why.
Where do the numbers come from?
Supply and minted counts should be read from the contract and match the explorer.
Is the contract public and verifiable?
The address should be on the page and resolvable on the explorer with a matching name.
What does “verified” or “audited” mean?
Look for published criteria and an audit registry, not a badge.
What are the fees?
Mint fee, marketplace fee and royalty handling should be published and on-chain.
What happens after the mint?
Collection pages should persist with their history, not vanish.
How Elevate implements it
Common mistakes
- Treating a listing as an endorsement of valueCuration reduces fraud risk. It does not tell you what a collection is worth.
- Minting from an announcement, not the platformAlways navigate to the launchpad yourself and confirm the collection is listed there.
- Ignoring the phase tableThe allowlist price is not the public price; your limit is per phase.
- Skipping the explorer checkOne minute on the explorer beats every scam that copies a mint page.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an NFT launchpad?
- A platform that helps creators deploy an NFT collection and run its mint — the contract, the phases, the allowlist, the mint page — and helps collectors find and mint from those collections.
- What does a curated launchpad do differently?
- It reviews collections before listing them, so a listing itself is a signal. Open launchpads let anyone deploy; curated ones like Elevate check the team, artwork and contract first.
- Does using a launchpad mean the launchpad holds my NFT?
- Not on a non-custodial launchpad. On Elevate the mint goes from your wallet to the collection contract; the platform never holds tokens or funds.
- Is a launchpad the same as a marketplace?
- No. A launchpad runs the primary mint; a marketplace handles secondary trading afterwards. Elevate runs both, connected by the transfer lock the creator controls.
See a curated launchpad in practice
Every collection on Elevate passed review and reads its numbers from the contract.