Virtuals Protocol (@virtuals_io): When we built Unicorn, we wanted to solve one of the oldest problems in agent launches: Snipers.

When we built Unicorn, we wanted to solve one of the oldest problems in agent launches: Snipers. At launch, the buy-side tax starts at 99% and decreases by 1% every minute over 98 minutes, until it reaches the 1% baseline. The sell-side tax remains fixed at 1% throughout. To illustrate: At minute 1 (99% tax): Buying $100 of tokens puts only $1 into the pool; $99 is taxed. In other words, you’re receiving $1 worth of tokens despite paying $100, the remaining $99 goes into a tax pool that’s no longer yours. Effectively, you’re buying at 100× the starting price. At minute 49 (50% tax): $50 goes into the pool, $50 taxed. You’re paying 2× the market price. At minute 98 (1% tax): The market normalizes, and trading continues at baseline 1%. Each agent’s launch page displays this in real time: - Current Buy Tax Rate - Effective FDV at that exact moment - A countdown timer showing how long until the tax fully resets All sniper taxes collected during this 98-minute period are automatically used to buy back the agent token over the next 24 hours. The repurchased tokens are distributed to the team wallet under a 3-month cliff + 9-month linear vest schedule. This mechanism ensures a fair start line for all, removing the advantage of bots and rewarding those who enter with conviction, not code.