Best Practices

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for projects to successfully deploy their tokens and create Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker (CLMM) pools on Sailor, helping avoid common pitfalls that can lead to token price volatility and liquidity issues.

Understanding Sailor's CLMM Architecture

Sailor DEX is built as a fork of Uniswap V3, implementing concentrated liquidity mechanics that allow liquidity providers to focus their capital within specific price ranges. This concentrated approach offers enhanced capital efficiency compared to traditional AMM models, but requires careful planning to avoid common deployment mistakes.

Pre-Deployment Preparation

Token Requirements

Before creating a pool on Sailor, ensure your project meets these essential requirements:

  • ERC-20 Compliance: Any ERC-20 token can be used to create a CLMM pool on Sailor

  • Token Contract Verification: Ensure your token contract is properly deployed and verified

  • Sufficient Token Supply: Have adequate tokens available for initial liquidity provision

Understanding Token Pairing Structure

Each CLMM pool consists of two tokens configured as a base and quote token pair. For example, in a SEI/USDC pool, SEI serves as the base token while USDC functions as the quote token. This pairing structure is crucial for determining pricing mechanics and liquidity distribution.

Step-by-Step Pool Creation Guide

Step 1: Access Sailor's Pool Creation Interface

Navigate to Sailor's pool creation page at https://sailor.finance/clmm/create-pool/1. This interface provides all the necessary tools for configuring and deploying your CLMM pool with appropriate parameters.

Step 2: Configure Token Selection

Important Consideration: To prevent duplicate pools, Sailor allows only one token pair per fee tier. Before proceeding, verify that your desired token pair and fee combination doesn't already exist on the platform.

When selecting tokens for your pool:

  • Choose your project token as either the base or quote token

  • Pair with an established token (such as SEI, USDC, or WETH) for better liquidity attraction

  • Consider the trading dynamics between your chosen token pair

Step 3: Select Appropriate Fee Tier

Sailor offers four distinct fee tiers, each designed for different token categories:

Fee Tier
Best Use Case
Description

0.01%

Very stable assets

Ideal for stablecoin pairs or highly correlated assets

0.05%

High-volume pairs

Best for established, high-volume trading pairs

0.25%

Most pairs

Suitable for the majority of token pairs

1.00%

Exotic pairs

Designed for volatile or low-volume exotic token pairs

Recommendation: For new project tokens, the 0.25% fee tier typically provides the best balance between attracting liquidity providers and maintaining reasonable trading costs.

Step 4: Determine Starting Price

The starting price represents the number of quote tokens required to purchase one base token2. This initial price setting is critical and should be based on:

  • Fair market valuation of your token

  • Comparable projects in your sector

  • Available capital for liquidity provision

  • Expected trading volume and market conditions

Critical Warning: Setting an inappropriate starting price can lead to immediate arbitrage opportunities that may drain your initial liquidity.

Price Range Strategy: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Understanding Price Range Selection

The initial price range determines where your liquidity will be concentrated upon pool creation2. This is where many projects encounter problems by setting ranges too narrow, leading to rapid price movements and potential losses.

  • Range Width: Set price ranges 50-100% above and below the starting price

  • Benefits: Provides stability and consistent fee-earning potential

  • Risk Level: Lower risk of going out of range during market volatility

  • Capital Efficiency: Moderate, but safer for inexperienced teams

Narrow Range Strategy | Advanced Users Only

  • Range Width: Set price ranges 10-25% above and below starting price

  • Benefits: Higher capital efficiency and fee generation

  • Risk Level: High risk of going out of range, requiring active management

  • Requirements: Continuous monitoring and rebalancing

Price Range Calculation Guidelines

When determining your price range, consider these factors

  1. Market Volatility: More volatile tokens require wider ranges

  2. Trading Volume Expectations: Higher expected volume may justify narrower ranges

  3. Management Capacity: Narrow ranges require active position management

  4. Risk Tolerance: Conservative approaches favor wider ranges

Liquidity Provision Best Practices

Initial Liquidity Requirements

When adding initial liquidity to your newly created pool

  • Balanced Approach: Provide equal value of both tokens when price is within your range

  • Sufficient Depth: Ensure adequate liquidity to prevent excessive slippage on initial trades

  • Reserve Strategy: Keep additional tokens available for range adjustments if needed

Managing Impermanent Loss Risks

Concentrated liquidity positions face different impermanent loss characteristics compared to traditional AMM pools:

  • Higher Exposure: Concentrated positions can experience more significant impermanent loss within chosen ranges

  • Active Management: Regular monitoring and position adjustments become more critical

  • Strategic Positioning: Careful range selection can help mitigate impermanent loss impact

Farm Creation and Incentive Mechanisms

Exclusive Farm Rights

Only the pool creator can establish a farm for their CLMM pool, providing additional incentive mechanisms. When creating farms:

  • Dual Reward System: Choose two reward tokens, with one required to relate to the token pair

  • Reward Allocation: Rewards allocated to farms are final and cannot be withdrawn post-creation

  • Timing Considerations: Adjustments can only be made 72 hours before the current farming period ends

APR Calculation Factors

The APR calculation for CLMM pools involves complex considerations:

  • Liquidity distribution around the mid-price

  • Reward token pricing dynamics

  • Overall pool liquidity levels

  • Trading volume and fee generation

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Price Range Errors

Problem: Setting excessively tight price ranges that result in rapid out-of-range positions.

Solution: Start with wider ranges (±50-100%) and gradually narrow as you gain experience with market dynamics.

Insufficient Initial Liquidity

Problem: Providing inadequate initial liquidity leading to high slippage and poor trading experience.

Solution: Ensure initial liquidity can support reasonable trading volumes without excessive price impact.

Poor Token Pairing Choices

Problem: Pairing with illiquid or inappropriate quote tokens.

Solution: Choose established, liquid tokens as your pair (SEI, USDC, WETH) to attract more liquidity providers and traders.

Lack of Post-Launch Management

Problem: Creating pools without ongoing management and optimization.

Solution: Implement monitoring systems to track pool performance and make necessary adjustments.

Monitoring and Optimization

Key Metrics to Track

After deploying your pool, monitor these critical metrics:

  • Trading Volume: Daily and weekly trading activity

  • Liquidity Utilization: How effectively your liquidity range captures trading activity

  • Fee Generation: Actual fees earned compared to projections

  • Price Stability: Token price movements and volatility patterns

Adjustment Strategies

Based on performance data, consider these optimization approaches

  • Range Rebalancing: Adjust price ranges based on trading patterns

  • Liquidity Additions: Increase liquidity during high-volume periods

  • Fee Tier Evaluation: Assess whether your chosen fee tier remains optimal

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