> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://realmtrade.gitbook.io/realm-documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://realmtrade.gitbook.io/realm-documentation/basics/launch-protections.md).

# Launch Protections

Keep snipers from owning your launch.

The first minutes of a launch are when bots do the most damage. Realm offers two optional, independent tools to blunt them. Both are configured at launch and both are visible on-chain before anyone buys.

<figure><img src="https://2390571693-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FmyyjeCk0M91Ab1zOuAcG%2Fuploads%2Fx33oyoxvIF8w4iIi6n2c%2Fphoto_2026-09-22%2020.44.04.jpeg?alt=media&amp;token=de40f1fb-2b13-42b8-9122-0a8f5ef7de80" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Sniper protection

Sniper protection caps how much any single address can acquire during a window after launch.

| Setting                     | Range                     |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| **Max buy per transaction** | 0.1% – 3% of total supply |
| **Max wallet**              | 0.1% – 3% of total supply |
| **Protection window**       | 1 minute – 24 hours       |
| **Whitelist**               | up to 50 addresses        |

Two independent caps do the work:

* **Max buy per transaction** limits a single purchase from any of the token's pools (or, on a Uniswap V2 token, from the bonding curve)
* **Max wallet** limits how much any address can hold in total — this is what stops a bot from splitting across many wallets and consolidating later

Max buy per transaction cannot exceed max wallet.

**Exemptions.** Selling is never blocked. Addresses on the whitelist bypass both caps, as do the recipients of a [creator buy](/realm-documentation/basics/launch-steps.md) at deployment.

**After the window** the caps stop applying permanently.

On a Uniswap V2 (bonding-curve) token, graduation is never blocked by the caps, and the window runs to its own end regardless of graduation: a token that graduates inside a 24-hour window keeps capping Uniswap buys until the window closes.

{% hint style="info" %}
Caps are measured against the **fixed 1B total supply**, not the circulating float. If you also lock supply in [creator vaults](/realm-documentation/basics/creator-vaults.md), a 3% cap is a larger share of the smaller tradable float. This is intentional.
{% endhint %}

## Tax decay

Tax decay starts the token with a deliberately punitive tax that **falls linearly** to the settled rate. Sniping the first block gets expensive; buying a few minutes later doesn't.

| Setting                               | Range            |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| **Starting buy + sell tax, combined** | up to 20%        |
| **Decay duration**                    | up to 20 minutes |

The rate charged on any trade is whichever is higher: the decaying tax, or the token's settled tax. Once the decay finishes, only the settled tax remains — which may be zero.

Like every other tax on Realm, decay tax accrues **100% to the creator**, in ETH, or in the pool's quote currency on an ERC20-quoted [direct launch](/realm-documentation/basics/direct-launch.md). See [Fee Structure](/realm-documentation/basics/fee-structure.md).

## Using both

The two are independent and complementary: sniper protection limits *how much* a bot can take, tax decay makes taking it *expensive*. Either can be used alone, both together, or neither.

Both are off by default.