Skip to main content

​
Protocol Economics

The VelumX Economic Model is designed to ensure sustainable infrastructure sponsorship while providing a transparent and predictable fee structure for end users.

​
The Fee Engine

VelumX calculates infrastructure fees in real-time, converting estimated Stacks (STX) gas costs into user-selected SIP-010 settlement tokens.

​
The Formula

InfrastructureFee=(GasUnits×GasPriceSTX×STX/USD×(1+Markup))Token/USDInfrastructure Fee = \frac{(Gas Units \times Gas Price_{STX} \times STX/USD \times (1 + Markup))}{Token/USD}
VariableDescription
Gas UnitsComputational complexity of the interaction.
STX/USDReal-time rate fetched from primary oracles (CoinGecko, Binance).
MarkupA standard protocol fee (typically 8%) to cover relayer operations and server overhead.
Token/USDThe exchange rate of the settlement asset (e.g., ~$1.00 for USDCx).

​
Sponsorship Policies

VelumX supports two primary economic models to accommodate different dApp onboarding strategies.

​
1. User-Settled Fee (USER_PAYS)

The default model where the end user compensates the relayer for gas expenditures.
  • Economic Flow: User → Protocol Action + SIP-010 Fee → Relayer → STX Gas.
  • Ideal For: Established DeFi protocols with active token-holding users.

​
2. Developer-Sponsored (DEVELOPER_SPONSORS)

The “Zero-Gas” onboarding model where the project developer subsidizes 100% of the user experience.
  • Economic Flow: Developer STX Balance → User Protocol Action → Relayer → STX Gas.
  • Ideal For: New user onboarding, trial periods, and high-growth dApps.

​
Settlement Assets

While the VelumX protocol is asset-agnostic at the contract level, the relayer network currently prioritizes high-liquidity assets to minimize exchange rate volatility:
  • USDCx / aeUSDC: Stablecoin settlement.
  • sBTC: Bitcoin-native infrastructure fees.
  • ALEX / STX: Protocol-native settlement.