Premine is a term in the world of cryptocurrencies that refers to the process where the developers of a new cryptocurrency mine a certain number of coins for themselves before the cryptocurrency is publicly launched. This practice is somewhat controversial.
The premining process occurs before the cryptocurrency’s blockchain is made public, and it allows developers to secure a certain portion of the total supply of coins or tokens for various reasons. These could include paying for development costs, marketing, future development, paying to list the coin on exchanges, or for other strategic purposes.
Critics argue that premining can be unfair as it may allow developers to sell their premined coins on the market and potentially manipulate the coin’s price. On the other hand, proponents argue that premining can be a necessary step to fund the ongoing development and maintenance of a new cryptocurrency, and can provide a means of compensation for the project’s founding team.
As with many aspects of cryptocurrencies, whether or not premining is considered acceptable often comes down to the specifics of the situation, including how transparent the developers are about the process and what they plan to do with the premined coins.