Is it possible to issue tokens with a "seven-day no-questions-asked return" policy? Virtuals introduces a "60-Days" plan, granting founders the right to exit without loss.

Author: Virtuals Protocol

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Early-stage founders are often forced to invest significant personal and reputational capital before validating market demand. Traditional accelerators, venture capital, and token offerings typically require early commitments with limited feedback loops.

The 60-day plan introduced an experiment-based approach.

The founders publicly build the product for 60 days, during which real users discover the product, and capital is accumulated through transaction fees and optional growth allocation.

At the end of the window, the founders decide whether to commit. If they commit, the tokens continue to exist, and the funds raised are unlocked over time for further growth and development. If they do not commit, the tokens are liquidated, and all funds raised are returned to the token holders.

The 60 Days framework is built on five core principles:

1. Founder sovereignty : Founders retain complete control over whether to commit or exit at the end of the 60-day window. Nothing is automatically unlocked.
2. Market testing : Demand is formed through real user behavior and voluntary support.
3. Reversible design : Every startup begins in a fully reversible state. Shutdown is an expected and reasonable outcome, not a failure condition.
4. Reputation protection : If the project is liquidated, all funds raised are returned to backers, and the founders' reputation remains intact. There are no permanent on-chain stains.
5. Risk and reward are aligned : backers support real progress, not just promises. Founders only receive funding after choosing to commit. Ups and downs are transparent and shared.

The operating mechanism of the 60-day plan

Each participating founder enters a 60-day public build and testing period.

During this period, the founder needs to:

• Regularly build and release product updates
• Interact with users and collect feedback
• Iterate, adjust direction, and publish progress reports.
• Maintaining transparent metrics
• Participate in community review

At the end of day 60, the founder must declare one of two outcomes:

• Commitment : Transition to long-term development
• No guarantee : If the project is liquidated, all accumulated funds will be refunded.

Startup 60 days

The project can launch its public token using a standardized bonding curve. The token can be traded during the build and testing phase. Pricing is dynamically adjusted based on demand. All 60-day launches take place on the BASE network. The project initially runs in a private pool. Once the cumulative trading volume reaches 42,000 VIRTUAL, liquidity is migrated to a Uniswap V2 pool, enabling open market access.

Token holders can participate in project milestones and performance, but can still be protected through a refund mechanism if the founders do not commit.

Token economic model

The 60 Days economic model is primarily designed to support the founders’ long-term sustainability while maintaining incentive alignment with supporters.

It consists of three core components:

• Trading Tax
• Automated Capital Formation (ACF)
• Growth Allocation (GA)

Founders also receive support during the 60-day period, receiving stipends through these mechanisms.

Transaction tax

All token transactions incur a 1% transaction fee.

• 30% allocated to the agreement
• 70% is allocated to the founders (founder transaction tax)

The founders' shares are locked during the trial period and are only released after commitment.

If the founder does not commit , the allocation will be redirected to a refund pool.

This mechanism rewards founders who complete the plan and prevents uncommitted launches.

Automatic Capital Formation (ACF)

ACF is an automated fundraising mechanism that continuously allocates capital to founders based on market participation and transaction activity.

• The released ACF funds have been used for working capital, infrastructure, and early expansion.
• Unreleased ACF allocations remain locked and will not be included in refund calculations until they are officially released.

ACF enables founders to raise funds gradually without relying on traditional funding rounds.

More detailed information about ACF can be found in the relevant documentation.

Growth Distribution (GA)

Founders can choose to open a Growth Allocation (GA) pool, funded by the sale of up to 5% of their team's allocated tokens. Participants deposit USDC in exchange for a token allocation based on a fixed public FDV (fully diluted valuation) determined by the founders.

GA funds are held in an escrow account until the promised outcome is determined, and will be fully refunded if the founder does not commit .

If the founders commit that funds in the Growth Allocation (GA) pool will undergo a mandatory vesting period of six months, the GA tokens will be released linearly over the six-month vesting period after the commitment.

If the founders do not commit , all GA funds will be refunded and vested. This structure protects founders and early backers from short-term speculation.

allowance mechanism

To support founders during the 60-day period, founders will receive a stipend. Every 30 days thereafter (on day 30 and day 60), founders will receive a stipend of 10% of the current funds raised (from transaction tax revenue and released ACF), up to a maximum of 5,000 USDC.

Example: Calculation on day 30:

• Total funds raised from founder transaction tax revenue and any released ACF: 35,000 USDC
• 10% calculation: 35,000 × 0.10 = 3,500 USDC
• Upper limit check: 3,500 < 5,000 upper limit
• Founder's stipend payment: 3,500 USDC

Calculation on day 60:

• Total funds raised from founder transaction tax revenue and any released ACF: 58,000 USDC
• 10% calculation: 58,000 × 0.10 = 5,800 USDC
• Upper limit check: 5,800 > 5,000 upper limit
• Founder's Allowance: 5,000 USDC (up to limit)

Reaching 60 days: Result

The founder promised to handle the situation.

Founders can choose to commit at any time during the 60-day trial period. Early commitment is permitted once sufficient traction and validation are achieved.

If the founder promises:

• Founder transaction fee allocation is immediately released to the founder's wallet.
• Released ACF funds unlocked
• Growth allocation (if any) vesting plan commences
• The allocation of participants has begun.
• Activate long-term infrastructure and distribution support
• Project transition to continuous development

The commitment demonstrates that the founders are prepared to pursue long-term execution and accountability.

Proportional allocation of growth distribution

Allocation is made proportionally to each participant's contribution to the growth allocation pool. If the pool is oversubscribed, allocation will be made proportionally, and any unused USDC will be automatically refunded.

Proportional allocation calculation

Each participant receives a proportional allocation based on their USDC contribution:

Example

Available growth allocation pool: 50,000 tokens

GA token price: 0.20 USDC per token

Maximum possible fundraising: 50,000 × 0.20 = 10,000 USDC

Total USDC committed by all participants: 15,000 USDC

Participant contribution examples

Alice, committed 5,000 USDC | Requesting 25,000 tokens at a price of 0.20.

Bob, committed 4,000 USDC | Requesting 20,000 tokens at a price of 0.20.

Carol, committed 3,500 USDC | Requesting 17,500 tokens at a price of 0.20

Dave, committed 2,500 USDC | Requesting 12,500 tokens at a price of 0.20.

Total: 15,000 USDC | Requesting 75,000 tokens

Because participants requested 75,000 tokens, but only 50,000 tokens were available, the pool was oversubscribed by 150% (75,000 ÷ 50,000).

All participants will receive tokens at the same fixed price of 0.20 USDC per token.

Example of proportional allocation

Alice:

Ratio: 5,000 ÷ 15,000 = 33.33%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.3333 = 16,667 tokens

USDC used: 16,667 × 0.20 = 3,333

Refund: 1,667 USDC

Bob:

Ratio: 4,000 ÷ 15,000 = 26.67%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.2667 = 13,333 tokens

USDC used: 13,333 × 0.20 = 2,667

Refund: 1,333 USDC

Carol:

Ratio: 3,500 ÷ 15,000 = 23.33%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.2333 = 11,667 tokens

USDC used: 11,667 × 0.20 = 2,333

Refund: 1,167 USDC

Dave:

Ratio: 2,500 ÷ 15,000 = 16.67%

Token allocation: 50,000 × 0.1667 = 8,333 tokens

USDC used: 8,333 × 0.20 = 1,667

Refund: 833 USDC

The founder makes no promises regarding how the situation will be handled.

If the founder does not commit:

• Trial period ended
• The liquidity pool was emptied.
• Token issuance halted
• Triggering the refund mechanism
• The accumulated funds are distributed to eligible holders.

In this scenario, the project is officially shut down within a 60-day timeframe, with no further capital being released.

Refund mechanism

If the founders do not commit, the remaining funds will be distributed from the accumulated pool to eligible token holders.

The accumulated funds come from three sources:

Accumulated funds = Released ACF funds + Founder transaction tax + Remaining $VIRTUAL in LPs

Founder Transaction Tax = 1% of collected transaction fees + 70% of transaction fees

How is the refund calculated?

The total refund consists of funds from two sources:

Refunds from released ACF funds and founder transaction tax

This portion is calculated from released ACF funds and the founders' transaction tax (i.e., 70% of the collected token transaction fees). Your share is based on your proportion of the eligible holdings:

Refund (Released ACF + Founder Transaction Tax) = (Your Token Holdings / Eligible Holdings) × (Released ACF Funds + Founder Transaction Tax)

Refunds from the liquidity pool ($VIRTUAL)

This portion is calculated from the remaining $VIRTUAL in the liquidity pool (LP). Your share is based on total eligible holdings, including the team's initial purchase:

Refund (LP $VIRTUAL) = (Your token holdings / Eligible holdings (including team initial purchase)) × Remaining $VIRTUAL in LP

Eligible holdings

Only the following balances are included in the refund calculation:

• Tokens purchased through public offering
• Ecosystem airdrop held until snapshot time

Not included in the refund

The following are not included:

• Team Reserved Tokens
• Unreleased ACF allocation
• Tokens from the buyback

Tokens acquired from the team's initial purchase are only eligible for a partial refund from the liquidity pool; no ACF or transaction fee refunds are available .

Important Note

⚠️ Refunds are distributed proportionally based on relative ownership at the time of the snapshot.

⚠️ Due to the possibility that the balance may change over a 60-day period, a full refund is not guaranteed.

⚠️ Please review the project details and risks before participating.

Refunds are subject to availability and are not guaranteed to be full.

Reduce the risks of building in the market

For credible AI founders, issuing tokens has historically required disproportionate reputational exposure. The traditional model mandates early, irreversible commitments before product market validation is complete. Once launched, expectations solidify, capital is immediately unlocked, and reputational consequences persist regardless of the outcome.

This dynamic hindered serious builders.

The 60 Days program aims to substantially reduce this risk.

It creates a structured testing window where experiments are anticipated, reversibility is built-in, and the commitment to remain voluntary. Founders can test distributions, validate needs, and iterate rapidly without permanently anchoring their reputation to an unfinished product. Capital is accumulating transparently, but access to that capital still depends on explicit commitment decisions.

This is crucial for high-level AI teams, whether building agent infrastructure, bot systems, or coordination layers. It allows them to leverage crypto-native distribution and monetization methods without incurring irreversible downside risks in the earliest stages of research and product development.

Conversely, supporters back observable progress, not static promises. If conviction strengthens, the project transitions to continuous development. If conviction weakens, funding is returned, and reputational damage is minimized.

60 Days redefines tokenization from a one-way publication event into a reversible experimental framework.

By doing so, it aligns capital formation with the way serious AI innovation actually happens: iterative, open, responsible, and conditional.

aGDP.