Yesterday we announced the Public Sale of Squid’s native token: $QUID.

Today we explain why. Why a token and why now? Why a public sale and why two sale platforms?

We mentioned some of our core beliefs in our main announcement yesterday (check it out here), one of which states that “Squid will be wherever we can to ensure your experience is seamless.” Our beliefs about $QUID are intertwined with our broader ethos. This is how we have always worked – our approach to building in crypto is as philosophical as it is technical.

Now we dive into the thought process behind $QUID, but not without sharing our collective stance on tokens and sales, too. We believe in transparency: not just in numbers or accountability, but in mutual understanding. So without further ado, here is our thesis on tokens, sales, and $QUID.

The Squid Stance

Since its inception, Squid has prioritized long term thinking over short term opportunities. The team has consistently focused on execution, security, and delivery rather than promises or hype.

Squid has operated through multiple market cycles, including major industry events (including FTX and Terra), while maintaining a strong security record and avoiding exploits. This track record reflects a decision-making process built around discipline, responsibility, and long-term ecosystem development.

The launch of $QUID is not the beginning or the end of the journey – it is a milestone that enables our next stage of growth.

“We’re going to do what we’ve been doing the past three years. Since day one – no shortcuts, act with integrity, build this for the long term. You can see those patterns in every product decision we’ve made since day one. Which is also a reason we’ve been able to build up such a strong brand.” – Christina

Token Stance

Squid believes that tokens are one of the most powerful coordination mechanisms available in crypto. At their best, they support participation, coordination, and long-term engagement within an ecosystem. They are uniquely effective at creating alignment at scale and speed.

The ideal outcome is a network (of products, integrations, and their users) that becomes more useful, resilient, and interconnected as adoption grows. A well-designed token can help coordinate participation across a growing ecosystem. Tokens are not a shortcut to success or a means to an end for capturing the current market, but this is how they have been treated. Crypto has gotten into the habit of launching tokens before products, a practice with consequences that even the highest valuations cannot outrun.

It does not matter whether a token is launched as a marketing tool, or purely for governance, staking, or yield. The truth remains the same – the relationship between the token and the ecosystem has to be meaningful. Because when a token is deployed without the proper measures in place to ensure the token serves a meaningful role within the ecosystem, the relationship between the token and the ecosystem becomes less clear, making it harder for the token to serve a meaningful role within the network.

Squid is fundamentally pro-token, but our approach is centered on ensuring that $QUID plays a meaningful role within the Squid Ecosystem. Squid’s platform is full stack – with three core product offerings (and more coming soon), multiple audiences, and an ecosystem comprised of 1,000 integrators across 100+ chains.

We launched a token so users, community members, and supporters can participate more deeply in the ecosystem we have built – one token designed to interact with every layer of Squid.

$QUID is more than just a token, ticker, or trend. It is designed to be a core part of the Squid Ecosystem. We’ve routed $6b+ in volume and served over 1m users since launching in 2023, have waited four years to bring you Squid’s forever token, $QUID.

Because a token isn’t a shortcut to success, but it sure is a good way to celebrate it.

“The ideal outcome is a network that becomes more useful and resilient as adoption grows. And a token can be a powerful coordination mechanism to help support that.” – Christina

State of Token Design

Many projects have launched tokens before achieving product-market fit. While often driven by fundraising pressures, launching too early makes it difficult to design a token that is genuinely tied to product demand and network growth.

The industry has also relied heavily on inflationary incentives, aggressive airdrop programs, and governance structures that create complexity without delivering meaningful value. These approaches may work in the strong bull markets but often generate sustained sell pressure and misaligned incentives over the long term.

The market is increasingly ready for a more mature model: tokens built alongside real products, real users, and sustainable growth.

“A lot of projects launch tokens way too early because we’ve been in such a capital intensive number of cycles. So whenever this happens, people are going to take shortcuts and jump the bandwagon, which unfortunately has happened at the cost of retail.” – Christina

“We’re seeing DeFi as the real product market fit of crypto. Which is submerging more into CeFi as well. And what that looks like in practice is revenue, retention, sustainable business models, no airdrops, and lockups and governance that actually make sense.” – Christina

Sale Stance (& why no airdrop)

Squid believes the traditional airdrop model is fundamentally flawed, with a large percentage of airdrop recipients selling immediately and often having little long term connection to the protocol. Squid has chosen not to do a traditional airdrop because we believe that there are better and longer term options for user appreciation than an airdrop can offer.

The token model has yet to be perfected. We see this as an exciting challenge. The past four years are proof that we prioritize the user as an individual, not a number – that we are not afraid to take a new approach, and that we put in the time and effort it takes to create something truly unique, completely in-house.

A public sale encourages participation from individuals who actively choose to engage with the ecosystem, because every token is acquired through conviction rather than received for free. Participants actively choose to participate rather than receiving tokens automatically.

Instead of an airdrop, our focus is on mechanisms that are more aligned with our long term growth as a product and a business. Which, in turn, best supports the long-term development of the Squid Ecosystem.

Importantly, Squid can prioritize its existing user base while ensuring that participation is driven by genuine interest rather than short-term farming behavior. Squid would not be Squid without the early adopters, loyal users, and supportive community members. We are making it a priority to ensure past Squid users and community members can participate in the sale, and will be prioritized in allocation decisions. Read more about Priority Allocation for Squid users here.

“Participants who actively choose to engage with an ecosystem often demonstrate stronger long-term engagement.” – Christina

Dual-Party Sale

We chose to launch across two sale platforms because both serve a distinct community and user profile. Together, these platforms provide broader geographic reach, greater diversity among participants, and stronger distribution.

Squid has always prioritized access. A dual-party sale will maximize the surface area for participation, encouraging and creating as much accessibility as possible for everyone who is interested in participating.

The objective is to create a healthy and resilient token holder base rather than concentrating ownership within a single audience.

“These two sale platforms bring two really distinct user bases, communities, and value propositions, that together are very powerful. Because when you have a public sale, the variety of your user base is important.” – Christina

Looking Forward

We’ll be sharing more specifics about $QUID soon, so stay tuned and continue learning about Squid’s Forever Token by checking out our collection on Squid School and following us on X. In the meantime, you can learn more about $QUID by reading our announcement here, and visiting our Squid School collection here.

“We’ve never marketed based on promises. We’ve marketed based on deliveries. And the token is really just a milestone along the journey. It’s not the final or the start of anything.” – Christina

Please Note

This blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only. This is not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation for on-chain participation in any mentioned chains, tokens, or assets. Please do your own research before swapping any on-chain assets.

About Squid

Squid is the leading cross-chain platform, delivering unlimited access to blockchains and digital assets for both users and builders alike. Since 2023, Squid has processed over $6 billion in volume. Its frontend bridge app has served over 1 million users, and its powerful API, SDK, and Widgets are trusted by more than 1,000 teams worldwide.

About $QUID

$QUID is the native token of Squid, a cross-chain platform that enables access to 20k+ tokens across 100+ blockchains. $QUID marks an important milestone for Squid, which has been operating since 2023 and has processed over $6 billion in volume for more than 1 million users. As Squid continues to expand its product, ecosystem, and interoperability infrastructure, $QUID is intended to support participation in and engagement with the Squid ecosystem.