PulseX Explained
Last Verified: June 30, 2026
PulseX is PulseChain's primary decentralised exchange. This page covers how it works, what PLSX and INC actually do, and what the fee structure means for liquidity providers and token holders.
On this page: What PulseX Is · The Fee Structure · PLSX · INC · The Sacrifice · Liquidity and the Ecosystem · Security and Audit Status · FAQ
What PulseX Is
PulseX is a decentralised exchange built on PulseChain, using the same automated market maker model as Uniswap V2. The official PulseX documentation states it "works like Uniswap on Ethereum": it uses the constant-product formula (x multiplied by y equals k) to price assets in liquidity pools without an order book.
PulseX launched alongside PulseChain mainnet on May 13, 2023. It was created by Richard Heart, who also created HEX and PulseChain.
The official entry point is app.pulsex.com, which functions as a code launcher pointing to IPFS-hosted interface deployments. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) addresses content by cryptographic hash rather than domain name, meaning the interface cannot be taken down by seizing a domain. It lists the available ways to run the PulseX interface, including IPFS-hosted versions and community mirrors. The swap interface itself runs from those decentralised deployments rather than from a centralised server. This is a deliberate architectural choice that removes the front end as a single point of regulatory or technical failure.
PulseX currently has three pool types: V1, V2, and StableSwap. V1 and V2 use the standard constant-product formula. StableSwap uses a Curve-style invariant designed for efficient swaps between correlated assets, such as stablecoin pairs, reducing slippage compared with a standard constant-product AMM. Piteas, PulseChain's DEX aggregator, routes trades across all three pool types for best execution.
Official positioning from pulsechain.com: "PulseChain's premier exchange" and "the most liquid exchange on PulseChain."
The Fee Structure
Official PulseX documentation describes a 0.29% swap fee, slightly lower than Uniswap V2's standard 0.3%. PulseX's fee and incentive mechanics vary by pool version. Official documentation describes the 76% / 21% / 0.01% allocation model for V2 pools, while V1, StableSwap, and farmed pools can differ in how LP fees and INC incentives are applied. Verify the active pool version before providing liquidity.
The fee is split as follows:
76% goes to liquidity providers in the pool where the swap occurred.
21% funds the buy-and-burn mechanism for PLSX.
0.01% goes to the Origin Address. In Zero Trust Network analysis this is described as a Sovereign Fee: an on-chain allocation designed to support ecosystem sustainability without a formal corporate treasury or team wallet. Official PulseX documentation states users "must have no expectations" of this allocation.
PLSX: The Exchange Token
PLSX is PulseX's native token. It was not distributed as part of the PulseChain state-copy fork. PLSX was created and allocated entirely through a dedicated sacrifice phase that ran before the May 2023 mainnet launch. Every PLSX in existence was minted to sacrifice participants. There was no developer allocation, team allocation, or treasury reserve.
Contract address: 0x95B303987A60C71504D99Aa1b13B4DA07b0790ab
The buy-and-burn mechanism. 21% of all PulseX swap fees are routed to the Buyback contract on PulseChain, where they accumulate in various tokens collected from trading activity. The contract address is verifiable on the PulseChain explorer (scan.pulsechain.com). This is an ongoing mechanism funded by accumulated trading activity across the protocol, not a per-swap instant event. Any user can call the permissionless buyAndBurn function on this contract to trigger a market buy of PLSX using the accumulated fees, with the purchased PLSX sent permanently to the burn address (0x000000000000000000000000000000000000dead). The caller of the function pays the gas for the transaction. This is a Zero Trust design property: the system requires no central operator to maintain its deflationary pressure. The function is public and requires no special permissions to execute.
PLSX is designed to be deflationary. Official PulseX documentation states the supply "never inflates" and becomes "rarer" over time through burns. The total supply has been decreasing since launch, though exact circulating supply fluctuates with ongoing burns and is best checked on-chain via PulseChain explorers.
Burn progress. Burn progress changes continuously and should be verified on-chain or through PulseChain Stats at the time of reading.
INC: The Incentive Token
INC is PulseX's second token, designed specifically to incentivise liquidity provision. It was not part of the PulseChain state-copy fork. INC was created fresh at and after launch for the purpose of LP incentives.
Contract address: 0x2fa878Ab3F87CC1C9737Fc071108F904c0B0C95d
INC is distributed to liquidity providers on incentivised pairs. LPs deposit their LP tokens into yield farms to earn INC. Not every pair earns INC; check current farm listings before providing liquidity.
The INC emission schedule is designed with decreasing inflation over time. Emissions decay; the rate of INC distributed to LPs decreases as the protocol matures.
INC does not confer governance or administrative control over the PulseX protocol.
The Sacrifice
The PulseX sacrifice was a pre-launch contribution phase separate from PulseChain's own PLS sacrifice. The sacrifice period began in early 2022. Users sent crypto assets (ETH, stablecoins, HEX, and others) to a designated sacrifice address, with PLSX minted proportionally to the USD value of each contribution. Bonuses were applied to earlier and larger contributions, with the earlier timing rewarding earlier participants more generously.
The SEC's 2023 complaint stated that the PulseX sacrifice address received more than 120,000 deposits totalling over $676 million in contributed crypto assets. The figure is historical and source-dependent. PLSX was distributed to participants at mainnet launch on approximately May 12, 2023.
This section covers the historical mechanics of how PLSX came into existence. It is not investment advice or an endorsement of any future similar event.
Liquidity and the PulseChain Ecosystem
PulseX as liquidity infrastructure. PulseX V2 pool depth matters beyond trading. CDP and lending protocols on PulseChain rely on DEX liquidity to execute liquidations when collateral needs to be converted. Shallow pool depth means failed or economically unviable liquidations, which leads to bad debt accumulation. PulseX is the primary settlement layer for PulseChain DeFi mechanics that depend on reliable, deep liquidity to function.
PulseX is the primary liquidity venue on PulseChain and the largest decentralised exchange in its ecosystem. Total value locked, trading volume, liquidity depth, and burn statistics change continuously and should be verified on PulseChain Stats rather than treated as static figures. This page focuses on PulseX's architecture and mechanics rather than time-sensitive metrics.
Other decentralised exchanges, including 9MM Pro, PHUX, and 9inch, also contribute liquidity to the PulseChain ecosystem. Rather than routing trades through a single venue, Piteas aggregates liquidity across PulseX V1, V2, StableSwap, and supported third-party DEXes to optimise execution and reduce slippage.
PulseX does not have a formal whitepaper. The primary official sources are pulsex.com and the PulseX FAQ. Live protocol activity, token data, and ecosystem metrics are best verified through PulseChain explorers and PulseChain Stats rather than static figures published here.
Security and Audit Status
No public audit report for PulseX-specific smart contracts has been published. The underlying Uniswap V2 codebase carries historical audits from its original deployment; that is a different claim from the PulseX deployment on PulseChain being independently audited. Critically, the StableSwap pools and the buy-and-burn logic are PulseX-specific additions that have no standalone public audit report. Users should treat the PulseX contract layer as carrying inherited Uniswap V2 audit coverage only, with the PulseChain-specific modifications unaudited.
No admin keys. No official documentation reviewed for this page identifies an administrative pause or upgrade mechanism for the core PulseX exchange contracts. The deployed smart contract code is the operative authority. This also means no individual or entity can be compelled to pause or modify PulseX, matching PulseChain's base-layer immutability standard. Users should still evaluate each contract interaction independently, particularly for newer pool types, farms, or third-party interfaces.
An LP fee distribution issue was reported in the initial launch version of PulseX and addressed in subsequent interface updates. No official PulseX incident disclosure archive exists.
For the broader context on smart contract security and what an absence of a published audit means in practice, see the PulseChain Wallet Security guide.
FAQ
What is PLSX used for? PLSX is PulseX's native exchange token. A portion of every PulseX swap fee is allocated to the protocol's buy-and-burn mechanism, permanently removing PLSX from circulation over time. Official PulseX documentation describes the supply as non-inflationary, with ongoing burns funded by trading activity. See PLSX: The Exchange Token above for the full mechanism.
Is PulseX audited? No public audit report for PulseX-specific contracts has been published. The underlying Uniswap V2 code has historical audits from its original deployment, but that covers the base codebase, not the PulseX deployment on PulseChain. Treat it as unaudited for risk assessment purposes.
How does the buy-and-burn work exactly? Official PulseX documentation states that on V2 pools, 76% of trading fees are allocated to liquidity providers, 21% support the PLSX buy-and-burn mechanism, and 0.01% is allocated to the Origin Address. Pool mechanics vary by version.
What is INC and how do I earn it? INC is PulseX's liquidity incentive token. It is distributed to liquidity providers on incentivised pairs. To earn INC, provide liquidity on an incentivised pair and deposit your LP tokens into the corresponding yield farm. Not all pairs earn INC; check current farm listings before providing liquidity.
How does PulseX compare to Uniswap? PulseX uses the same Uniswap V2 constant-product AMM model. The primary differences are the fee structure (0.29% vs 0.3% on Uniswap V2), the built-in buy-and-burn mechanism for PLSX, and the INC incentive layer for LPs. PulseX operates on PulseChain, not Ethereum, meaning it uses PLS for gas and operates within PulseChain's trust model.
Was PLSX part of the PulseChain state-copy fork? No. PLSX was distributed through a dedicated sacrifice phase before the May 2023 mainnet launch, entirely separate from PulseChain's state-copy of Ethereum. INC was also created fresh at launch and was not part of the state-copy. Neither token existed on Ethereum before PulseChain launched.
What was the PulseX sacrifice? The sacrifice was a pre-launch contribution phase where users sent crypto assets to a designated address and received PLSX proportional to their contribution. The SEC's 2023 complaint stated the sacrifice received more than 120,000 deposits totalling over $676 million in contributed crypto assets. All PLSX was minted to sacrificers; there was no developer or team allocation. Tokens were distributed at mainnet launch in May 2023.
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