Tokens that lean short
Choose a side as well as a market in the demo. What a short slice tracks, how the page shows it, and what stays the same.
Development note · The public app offers a simulated demo and public data views. Lean's real-money launch, trading and redemption services are not enabled. This article explains the implementation being built.
The Lean demo now lets a creator choose long or short at launch. The selected side remains fixed for that demo token. The intended economics are unchanged: one market per token, fixed 2.5% token tax, and 90% of the fees Lean actually receives toward the position with 10% to its treasury. Real-money launches and trading are not enabled.
What a short slice tracks
A short gains when its market falls and loses when it rises. In the constant-exposure example, a 2× short gains 20% when the market falls 10%, and loses 20% when it rises 10%, before costs. Units represent allocated backing; they do not promise a fixed return. Funding, fees, cash buffers and changing exposure affect the actual outcome.
Illustration only. All three slices start with the same value and maintain constant, fully deployed exposure. Before liquidation, a 10% market move gives approximately 10%, 15% or 20% in the opposite direction. The shaded model assumes a complete loss at liquidation; actual maintenance tiers, fees, funding, buffers and recoveries differ. A 1× setting is not a guarantee against loss or liquidation. A 1× short’s modeled liquidation is beyond the ±70% chart window; it is not impossible.
Liquidation lies on the rising-price side for a short. Even a 1× short can lose its backing and liquidate after a sufficiently large rise. Its modeled boundary is outside this chart’s ±70% window; that does not make it safe. A market can rise by more than 100%. Current market-specific requirements must be verified before any real execution.
How you can tell
The token mark leans right for a long and is mirrored for a short. Beside the market, long is green and short is red; the mark, ticker and amounts stay monochrome. Explore separates the two lists. The token page names the side and its graph follows it. The brand lockup keeps its original mark.
What is not changing
Claiming records allocated units. A redemption request remains exposed until a confirmed closing NAV fixes its USDG debt; funding is then required before withdrawal. Selling the tradable token does not transfer already allocated units or a pending redemption. These rules are the same for either direction.
Long and short holdings are not automatically a hedge. Markets, position sizes, leverage, funding, buffers and timing can differ. The Me illustration reports the chosen directions and value weights; it is not a guarantee that gains on one token offset losses on another. All balances and actions in the demo remain simulated.