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Crypto Market Maker Services: Strategy, Introductions, Deal Terms
Quick answer: Cohort Marketing provides crypto market maker services on the project's side of the table: liquidity strategy for launches and listings, introductions to vetted crypto market makers, and negotiation of deal terms. We have guided 300+ Web3 projects since 2022, including token launches, and never run the trading book ourselves, so our advice stays independent. You get a second set of eyes on every term sheet before you sign it.
Trusted By Industry Leaders
Liquidity makes or breaks a listing
A token with thin liquidity scares away traders and looks risky to exchanges. A market maker provides the order-book depth and tight spreads that make a market tradeable. Choosing the wrong one is one of the most expensive mistakes in crypto token market making: bad loan-option terms can hand a desk cheap tokens to dump on your community.
Founders rarely negotiate market-making deals more than once or twice in a career; desks negotiate them every week. That imbalance is exactly where independent guidance earns its keep. A second reader on the term sheet costs little compared with a loan that hands a desk cheap upside for the full term of the deal.
How we help
We work on the project side from the first desk conversation through to the KPI reviews after listing, so the same advisor who negotiated the terms checks that they are delivered:
- Market maker introductions to vetted desks that fit your token's stage and venues (see our market maker rankings).
- Liquidity strategy aligned to your token launch and listing plan.
- Deal-term negotiation: loan-plus-call-option vs retainer, strike levels, KPIs, exit clauses.
- KPI monitoring: spread, depth, and uptime tracked against the contract, not taken on faith.
- Coordination with exchange listing marketing so depth and demand arrive together on listing day.
- Memecoins: graduation and DEX-pool liquidity is its own discipline: memecoin market making.
Independent, project-side guidance
We sit on your side of the table. Because we don't run the market-making book ourselves, our advice on providers and terms is independent, focused on what's best for your project, not a trading desk. That independence is structural, not a promise: we have no book to protect and no inventory position that benefits from terms tilted against you, so recommendations track your outcome, not a desk's margin. If a desk's terms don't make sense for your token, we say so before you sign, not after your chart shows why. We do not take a fee from any market making firm, so a recommendation never depends on which desk you choose.
Who it's for
Token projects preparing for TGE or exchange listings that need liquidity in place and want to avoid common market-making mistakes: predatory loan terms, mismatched strike prices, or a desk with no real presence on the venues that matter. We work with teams early enough to shop multiple desks, not just accept the first term sheet that lands in the inbox. That lead time is usually what separates a launch with clean liquidity from one that spends its first month explaining a chart.
A good time to start is six to ten weeks before TGE, when tokenomics are set but loan sizes, venues and listing dates can still change. Bring your vesting schedule, circulating supply at launch, target exchanges and any term sheets you have already received. If you have already signed, we can still review the contract against live KPIs and help you prepare for renewal or exit talks.
How to Vet a Market Maker: KPIs, Terms and Red Flags
Most of the value we add sits in the vetting and the contract. A market maker's job is orderly, two-sided markets. It is not there to set or defend a price, and a desk that offers to do so is proposing something you should not sign. This is what we check before a term sheet goes to signature.
KPIs to write into the contract
- Spread: a maximum bid-ask spread for each pair on each venue.
- Depth: minimum order book depth on both sides within set distances from the mid price, such as 1% and 2%.
- Uptime: the share of time the desk is quoting within those spread and depth limits, measured per exchange.
- Reporting: venue-level reports on spreads, depth, uptime and inventory on a fixed schedule, not a monthly summary you cannot verify.
Deal terms to model before signing
In a token loan plus call option deal, the project lends tokens and the desk receives options to buy them at set strike prices, typically at the end of a 12 to 24 month term. Model the cost under bear, base and bull price paths, cap the loan size, and set strikes meaningfully above launch price. In a retainer deal you pay a monthly fee and keep your tokens, so the fee, inventory requirements and any revenue share matter most. In both models, agree on the notice period, how loaned tokens come back and who controls the exchange accounts.
Red flags
- Promises of a set daily trading volume. Real volume comes from real traders; manufactured volume is wash trading and puts listings at risk.
- Any talk of supporting, defending or targeting a price.
- Refusal to put spread, depth and uptime numbers on paper.
- Option strikes, loan size or expiry that stay vague until after signing.
- No live integrations on the exchanges where you plan to list in the next 12 months.
Since 2022 we've guided 300+ Web3 projects, including launches and listings, coordinating liquidity alongside the marketing, KOL and PR push a listing needs. Our guide on how to choose a crypto market maker walks through the full checklist.
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What Sets Us Apart
Strategic marketing solutions tailored for the decentralized future
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We understand DeFi, NFTs, and crypto projects inside and out. We make your project more visible and get more people using it.
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We build active Web3 communities people want to join. We handle moderation and protect from scammers and spam.
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We get your project featured in crypto publications and connect you with blockchain influencers who matter.
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We use real blockchain data to improve your marketing. Just strategies that work based on actual numbers.
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We handle everything from token launches to Web3 branding to app promotion. One team for all marketing needs.
Proven Blockchain Success
We've helped 300+ Web3 projects grow since 2022, including DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, and Layer 2 solutions.
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We’re thrilled to dive into your Web3 project and uncover how Cohort Marketing can supercharge your growth!
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are token market making services?
Everything involved in keeping a token tradeable: continuous two-sided quoting, order book depth, tight spreads, and inventory management across exchanges. Desks provide that service under a token loan plus option deal or a monthly retainer. Cohort Marketing adds the project-side layer: liquidity strategy, desk selection, contract KPIs and deal negotiation, so the terms you sign match your launch plan and your venues.
Does Cohort Marketing act as the market maker?
No. We provide introductions to vetted market makers and independent, project-side guidance on strategy and deal structure. We do not custody funds, hold your tokens or trade on your behalf, and we have no trading book that benefits from the terms you agree. That separation lets us compare desks on their merits and tell you plainly when a term sheet favors the desk over your project.
How are market-maker deals usually structured?
Two models dominate. In a token loan plus call option deal, you lend tokens and the desk receives options to buy them at set strike prices at the end of the term, with no monthly fee. In a retainer, you pay a monthly fee and keep your tokens. Loans save cash but can cost upside if strikes are set too low; retainers cost cash but keep incentives cleaner.
When should we engage a market maker?
Start six to ten weeks before TGE or an exchange listing, when tokenomics are set but loan sizes, venues and dates can still change. That leaves time to compare several desks, negotiate KPIs and complete exchange integrations, so liquidity is live and quoting before marketing sends traffic to the token. If you have already signed, we can review the contract against live KPIs.
What KPIs should a market making contract include?
At minimum: a maximum spread per venue, minimum order book depth on both sides within set distances from the mid price, and quoting uptime, all written as numbers for each exchange. Add reporting terms that show spreads, depth, uptime and inventory at venue level, plus clear exit terms. A desk that will not commit to these on paper leaves you no way to check what you paid for.