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It enables compliant, enforceable, and onchain secondary markets for vesting positions through a new mechanism: MirrorTokens — tokenized commodity forward contracts.

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🚧 The Problem: Locked Allocations = Trapped Capital

In every cycle, billions in value sit idle in locked token allocations:
  • VCs hold illiquid paper until vesting completes
  • Contributors can’t rebalance or realize upside
  • Traders can’t get exposure to early allocations
  • OTC trades are manual, opaque, and legally risky
SAFTs and token grant agreements weren’t designed for liquidity — and most trading of locked allocations today happens in legal gray zones.
1st turns this problem into an opportunity — by reimagining how vesting rights are represented and exchanged.

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🧬 The Solution: MirrorTokens

1st introduces MirrorTokens — ERC-20 tokens that represent enforceable rights to future token delivery. Each MirrorToken:
  • Is backed by a legally binding Token Delivery Commitment (TDC)
  • Is physically settled — tokens must be delivered onchain
  • Is enforceable directly by holders under commercial contract law
  • Can be traded freely on any secondary market or DEX
MirrorTokens are not derivatives, not securities, and not synthetic exposure. They are tokenized forward contracts for actual delivery. The foundation of 1st is the Token Delivery Commitment (TDC) — a signed, one-sided agreement where the issuer commits to deliver tokens to a smart contract vault on a fixed schedule. This structure:
  • Creates a new legal asset: the delivery right
  • Avoids investment contract status (Howey test)
  • Qualifies as a physically settled commodity forward contract under U.S. CFTC precedent
  • Establishes a direct legal relationship between issuer and MirrorToken holders
The protocol never takes custody. There are no intermediaries, no pooled investment schemes, and no discretionary managers.

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🔐 How the Protocol Works

  1. A VC or token issuer signs a TDC
    Specifies the token, amount, delivery timeline, and settlement address.
  2. GTFO DAO deploys the MirrorToken contract
    An ERC-20 with vault logic. Immutable, permissionless, non-upgradeable.
  3. MirrorTokens are minted
    Issued to the signer, ready to be listed, transferred, or sold.
  4. Secondary trading begins
    Anyone can acquire forward rights via MirrorToken swaps.
  5. Tokens are delivered onchain
    At each unlock, the issuer sends tokens to the vault.
  6. Holders claim their share
    Based on proportional MirrorToken ownership, directly via smart contract.
→ See full protocol architecture

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📈 What This Unlocks

  • ✅ Liquidity for early-stage token allocations
  • ✅ Price discovery for vesting positions
  • ✅ Compliant trading with enforceable delivery rights
  • ✅ Simplicity for issuers, clarity for buyers
Whether you’re a fund, a contributor, or a trader — 1st makes locked allocations liquid, legal, and usable.

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💡 Who 1st Is For

AudienceValue
VCsMonetize locked positions without triggering security risk
ContributorsRebalance portfolios or gain liquidity pre-vesting
Market MakersArbitrage vesting prices vs. forward delivery expectations
Protocol TeamsDistribute tokens with clear mechanics and future unlocks
TradersGet early exposure to top-tier token allocations

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📄 Learn More

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TL;DR

1st is the infrastructure layer for trading locked token allocations.
  • Legally enforceable
  • Onchain automated
  • Designed for funds, contributors, and traders
  • Backed by real delivery, not hope
This is how vesting markets get unlocked.