Automatic Liquidity · Nightshade Docs

Nightshade's Automatic Liquidity feature lets you provide concentrated, on‑chain liquidity on any trading pair with a custom distribution. Instead of passively spreading your assets across all prices (as in a typical AMM), you concentrate your tokens at the price levels you choose — buying low and selling high on autopilot, and capturing profit on each swing.

The Liquidity tab on the Swap Page lets you create up to 18 automatic liquidity orders at once, rather than placing each individually.

How it works

Flipping orders (buy low, sell high). An automatic liquidity order is a special limit order that flips after it executes. When your buy order fills, the system automatically places a matching sell order higher up (by your chosen spread), using the tokens you just bought. When that sell fills, a new buy opens with the proceeds. Your liquidity keeps cycling — buying low, selling high — until you cancel it.
Profit spread. You set a spread percentage: the price difference between each buy and its paired sell. A 5% spread aims to pocket ~5% on every round trip. Smaller spreads fill more often for less per trade; larger spreads earn more per trade but need bigger price moves.
A custom liquidity curve. Deploy many flip orders at once to build a grid across a price range. Choose how they're distributed with several bonding‑curve options (Linear, Exponential, Sigmoid, Quadratic) to shape the size and spacing of your orders.
Concentrated, not spread thin. Unlike an AMM pool that spreads tokens across every price (capital‑inefficient and exposed to impermanent loss), you target exactly where you expect volatility or want to support a level.
No instant execution. Your initial orders must sit away from the current price — buys below, sells above — so you're providing liquidity rather than taking a trade. Nightshade won't create an order at a price that would match instantly.
Continuous and cancellable. Orders run indefinitely until you cancel them (unless you've locked them). Cancelling stops that position from flipping and returns your tokens.
Optional locking. A Lock For option locks orders for a fixed duration (e.g. 1 week, 1 month, 1 year) — useful for project owners guaranteeing liquidity through a launch. Most users leave this as None to keep the flexibility to cancel any time.

Step‑by‑step

Open the Liquidity form. On the Swap Page, switch to the Liquidity tab. If you came from a token's page, the pair is pre‑selected.
Set your price range.
- Min Price — the lowest price for your buy orders; nothing is placed below it. Keep it below the current market so your buys don't fill instantly.
- Max Price — the upper limit for placing liquidity. If the market rises above it, new flips pause until price comes back into range.
Enter order amounts.
- Buy Amount — total quote currency (e.g. USDC) to buy the base token at or above the Min Price.
- Sell Amount — total base token (e.g. ALPH) to sell at or below the Max Price.
Make sure you hold enough of both assets for the buy and sell sides.
Set the profit %. How much higher each paired sell sits above its buy. A 5% profit means each buy is followed by a sell 5% higher, netting ~5% per completed cycle (minus fees).
Choose a distribution curve (advanced). Linear spreads liquidity evenly; Exponential concentrates it toward one end; other curves cluster it to a formula. If unsure, Linear is a solid default.
Optionally set a lock time. Locks prevent cancellation until it elapses — leave it off unless you need to guarantee liquidity for a period.
Review and place. Check the preview of prices and amounts, then click Place Order.
Confirm. Sign the transaction in your Alephium wallet to deploy the orders on‑chain.
Monitor and manage. Your orders flip continuously; cancel any (unless locked) from your active orders list at any time.

Tips & best practices

Start small while you learn how the flips behave, then scale up.
Pick a realistic range. Too wide spreads liquidity thin; too narrow may leave price outside your bounds. Aim to cover the token's typical volatility.
Balance your profit %. 1–2% fills often in a volatile market for small gains; 5–10% earns more per flip but fills less often. Many people start around 1–5%.
Size orders sensibly and keep some reserves — if all your buys fill, you'll need the sell‑side inventory to flip, and vice versa.
Use locking with caution — great for supporting a launch, but only lock funds you won't need for the duration.