How it works
A leaderboard for crypto projects where the ranking is bought and then burns away. Three rules, and then everything that follows from them.
The loop
- Pay → heat $50 in ETH, SOL, BTC or USDC is $50 of heat. Any token, memecoin, DeFi or NFT project can list. Paid Heat is the ranking power. Earned Embers add a limited, capped boost on top, and listings are ordered by the total — Rank Power. Not age, not volume, not who you know.
- Heat burns off Every listing loses half of its heat every 18 hours, continuously. Stop paying and you slide down on your own.
- The throne burns 2× faster #1 burns at 2× the normal rate, #2 at 1.35×, everyone else at 1×. So the top always changes hands.
Why nobody can squat at #1
Two listings decaying at different rates cross at a time you can calculate. The leader burns faster than the project chasing it, so a lead is a countdown rather than a possession — a 12% head start is gone in about 4.5 hours.
Holding the throne costs a rate, not a one-time price. One large payment cannot park at the top, which is the entire reason the board is worth watching.
The three burn rates
Only the top two pay a tax. From third place down everyone decays at the same base rate, so the pressure is concentrated exactly where the attention is.
What $500 actually buys
The same payment, held at the top against held further down:
| at #1 (2×) | at #3+ (1×) | |
|---|---|---|
| the moment you pay | $500 | $500 |
| 3 hours later | $397 | $445 |
| 6 hours later | $315 | $397 |
| 12 hours later | $198 | $315 |
| 24 hours later | $79 | $198 |
Which is the trade: the throne is the most valuable position and the most expensive to hold. Nobody is charged twice — the difference is entirely how fast the heat you already bought burns away.
What happens when somebody takes your spot
Nothing is taken back. You keep every dollar of heat you have left, and you stop paying the throne's rate — at #2 you burn at 1.35×, from #3 down at 1×. Falling behind gets cheaper, so taking the top back costs less than holding it did.
Paying for a listing, and controlling one
These are different rights on purpose. Anyone may buy heat for any listing without a key — backing a project you like is the point, not an attack. Changing what a listing says — its name, link, icon, contract or category — needs the project key, and a key exists only where the listing has been verified. Creating a listing issues nothing.
Claiming a project gets you both: a DNS TXT record where we hold a canonical domain for the project, and a person reading the claim everywhere else. You never choose which route applies, and never the domain you are checked against. Listing, promoting and claiming, in full →
Paying
Crypto only — no cards, no fiat, no accounts. Every invoice quotes an exact amount, unique to two extra decimal places, and that amount is how a payment on a shared address is matched to your listing. Send it exactly; an amount that does not match cannot be credited automatically.
All payments are final. There are no refunds. Heat is non-refundable and burns off over time — you are renting a position, not buying one.