# Participating in an IDO

You can participate in an IDO in **Public Sales** or **Pre-Sales**, or both.

#### Public Sales

In Public Sales, each participant will be able to commit as much CFX as they would like to, there is no upper limit. To participate in a Public Sale, you only need to get CFX.

#### Pre-Sales

To participate in a Pre-sale, participants will need to satisfy a certain score depending on the project to be able to join it.

Each participant will be able to commit any amount of CFX up to the maximum commit limit for the Pre-Sale.

Each IDO project will start with a Pre-sale period and if all allocated tokens in this sale are sold, users will need to wait until the Public sale.

You will be able to claim an IDO’s token once both sales are finished. You can check the claiming time on the offering’s page.

**FCFS (First Come First Serve) sale method**

TLDR: Be the first to purchase the token to guarantee your position!

In the FCFS method, the earliest you come the higher chance you have to commit to the IDO. 

## Joining an IDO

### Before the IDO

Before you can join an IDO, there are a few things you will need to do to get ready. Follow the steps below to make sure you're ready to buy when the IDO event goes live.

#### 1. Lock PPI in the Swappi Staking Pool to get your Launchpad score.

vePPI determines your Launchpad score, you will need to satisfy a certain score depending on the project to be able to join the Swappi IDO Pre-Sales.

There is a Pre-Sale Upper Limit Per Address, you can purchase as many tokens you want as long as you do not exceed the limit per address.

#### Calculating Launchpad Scores

{% hint style="info" %}
You can simulate your score at [Swappi’s Boost Simulator](https://swappi.io/#/simulator).
{% endhint %}

Staking your PPI in the Staking pool will get a Launchpad Score, which is calculated as follows:

| Lock Time (1 $PPI) | Points |
| ------------------ | ------ |
| 4 years            | 1      |
| 3 years            | 0.75   |
| 2 years            | 0.5    |
| 1 year             | 0.25   |

{% hint style="info" %}
Your vePPI weight gradually decreases as your escrowed tokens approach their lock expiry, so does the Launchpad score. Make sure you have enough score to satisfy Pre-Sale requirements before the launch date.
{% endhint %}

#### 2. Get CFX tokens

Once you have a high enough Launchpad score, you will also need to prepare some CFX tokens in your wallet. These will be used to buy the tokens being offered in the IDO.

See: [Getting CFX in Conflux eSpace](/swappi/getting-started/getting-cfx-in-conflux-espace.md) to learn how.

#### 💳  Genesis Pass NFT Holders

Genesis Pass NFT holders will require lower Launchpad Scores to participate in IDOs. To check the exact amount your required Launchpad Score is reduced, please visit the project’s IDO information page.

#### Pre-Sale Whitelist

If you are a whitelist winner from a marketing event, you can participate in the Pre-Sale directly without any score required.


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