← blog · 2026-10-24 · 7 min read

Pons V3 explained: launch protection and the 5% cap

How Pons V3 launches work on Robinhood Chain: locked Uniswap V3 pool, no bonding curve, a two-block 5% wallet cap, and what the cap doesn't stop.

On 2 October 2026 Pons, the launchpad on Robinhood Chain, switched new launches to V3. Phemex reported that the change applies only to new tokens, and that the founder confirmed existing V1 and V2 contracts are unchanged. Pons's current docs now describe a launch model that looks quite different from the one most traders learned: no bonding curve, a locked Uniswap V3 pool from the first block, and a two-block "launch protection" window that caps each wallet at 5% of supply.

This post covers how a V3 launch works, what changed from V2, what the 5% cap does and doesn't stop, and how to check a V3 token before you buy. If you want the V2 mechanics (the 99% snipe tax and the exempt-wallet list), read our Pons launchpad explained post. We don't repeat them here.

How a Pons V3 launch works

According to Pons's docs, creating a launch deploys the token and its trading pool in a single transaction, and the pool's liquidity is locked automatically. The key parameters:

• Supply: a fixed 1 billion tokens.
• Pool: Uniswap V3, quoted against WETH only, with a 1% pool fee (fee tier 10000).
• Launch fee: 0.0005 ETH.
• No bonding curve and no migration. Buys and sells happen in the same pool from launch onwards.
• Graduation happens when the WETH paired in the locked pool reaches a threshold (4.2 ETH by default). The docs are blunt that graduation "is not a quality signal and does not guarantee future liquidity, price, or an exit." Trading simply continues in the same pool.

Trading fees are split between the creator and the protocol, and the split is snapshotted per token at launch. The docs list 70% creator / 30% protocol for tokens from the active factory, and 90/10 for tokens from the legacy factory. Pons says 80% of protocol fees currently fund a PONS buyback-and-burn via an automated TWAP, and that this share "is not immutable yet."

The docs also note that "deployed contracts are immutable" and that new versions ship as new factory and locker addresses. That matters for traders: which rules a token follows depends on which factory created it, not on today's date.

Launch protection: the two-block window

This is the V3 replacement for V2's snipe tax. In Pons's words, buys from the pool are protected for the first two blocks after launch:

• On the launch block itself, only the creator's initial buy can execute.
• For the rest of the window, each wallet can hold at most 5% of supply and buy at most 5.5% of supply.
• Selling and wallet-to-wallet transfers are never restricted, and all limits end once the window closes.

Each token records a restrictionsEndBlock, readable from the factory's getLaunchedToken call or the TokenLaunched event, so you can see exactly when a token's limits stopped applying.

What changed from V2

Two caveats. First, the V3 docs don't mention a snipe tax or an exemption list at all. We read that as both being gone for V3 launches, but we haven't verified it against the deployed factory contract. Second, Phemex's report said V3 "leaves the bonding curve decision to creators", which doesn't match the docs' "there is no bonding curve and no migration later." Until that's resolved, check each token's factory and pool rather than assuming.

Is Pons V2 still audited?

Not according to Pons. On 22 October Pons said all three V2 audits (SB Security, Dingbats and Pashov) are still open and asked developers to treat V2 as unaudited, as reported by Alpha Finance. V2 tokens keep trading under their original rules, since the V1 and V2 contracts were left unchanged (Phemex). So a token launched before 2 October still has V2's curve, snipe tax and exemption list behind it, and everything in our V2 post still applies to it. We haven't found a public V3 audit report; if one exists, Pons's docs don't link it.

What the 5% cap doesn't stop

A per-wallet cap limits a wallet, not a person. Nothing in the documented rules ties wallets together, so one operator with 15 fresh wallets can in principle buy up to 5% in each during the window, with no tax to pay. This is the same weakness that made V2's exemption list abusable, just from a different angle: in September The Block reported on V2 launches where 15 to 25 creator-linked wallets ended up holding 82% to 86% of supply after the opening transactions. V3 removes the opt-out list, but it can't tell 20 independent buyers from one buyer with 20 wallets.

Two more things to keep in mind:

• The creator gets the first buy. The launch block is reserved for the creator's initial buy, and the docs don't state a cap on it. Check the initialBuyAmount in the launch event.
• The window is only two blocks. After that there is no limit on buying, holding or selling. Selling and transfers were never restricted, so a capped wallet can pass tokens on to another wallet at any time.

None of this means V3 is unsafe or that bundling is happening on any particular token. Teams do split buys legitimately. It means the cap is a speed bump for single-wallet snipers, not proof of a fair distribution.

How hoodwatch's synced-buy flag helps

The pattern a wallet cap can't stop is exactly the one our SYNCED BUYS tag looks for on the live tape: several fresh wallets buying near-identical sizes at the same moment, often from the same funder. The rules are explained in synced buys, empty pools and copycat tickers. On a V3 launch, a group of wallets each landing just under 5% in the protection window is a pattern to look into.

The DEPLOYER tag also matters more than ever. With LP pulls ruled out by the locker, the remaining risk is who holds supply and what they've done before. COPYCAT catches reused tickers, which matter because, as Pons's own docs warn, "names and symbols can be copied."

How to check a Pons V3 token with /scan

1. Get the contract address from the token page, not from a name search. Paste it into /scan.
2. Read the holder section. A cluster of wallets each holding roughly 4–5% is the shape the cap leaves behind when someone bundles. Add up the top holders, not just the largest one.
3. Check liquidity and contract checks. V3 liquidity should show as locked; the scan also runs the honeypot and transfer checks that apply to any token.
4. Look at the launch transaction on Blockscout for the creator's initial buy and the restrictionsEndBlock, then look at who bought inside that window.
5. Browse /scans to see whether the token, or tokens from the same deployer, were scanned recently.

hoodwatch is unofficial and read-only. It doesn't read Pons factory data directly, so the launch-window details in step 4 come from the explorer, not from us. Reading the hoodwatch tape explains each tag.

FAQ

What is Pons V3? The launch model Pons switched new launches to on 2 October 2026. Tokens launch straight into a locked Uniswap V3 pool against WETH, with no bonding curve and no migration.

Does Pons V3 still have a snipe tax? The current docs don't describe one. They describe a two-block launch protection window instead. We haven't verified the absence of a tax in the contracts.

What is the Pons 5% wallet cap? For the two-block window after launch, each wallet can hold at most 5% and buy at most 5.5% of supply. The launch block itself is reserved for the creator's initial buy. Selling and transfers are never restricted.

Does the wallet cap stop bundling? No. It limits each wallet, so a buyer spread across many fresh wallets isn't stopped by it. Look for synced buys and clustered holders.

Are my V2 tokens affected? No. Pons says V1 and V2 contracts are unchanged, so V2 tokens keep their original rules. Pons also says its V2 audits are still open and V2 should be treated as unaudited.

This post explains mechanics and public reporting. It is not financial advice.

hoodwatch.dev is unofficial and read-only, not affiliated with fomo.family or Robinhood. Nothing here is financial advice. Open the live tape.