> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://streamlock.gitbook.io/streamlock-docs/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://streamlock.gitbook.io/streamlock-docs/fees-and-economics/fee-structure.md). # Fee Structure A complete breakdown of fees on Streamlock. *** ## Overview Streamlock uses a **flat buy fee** with **dynamic sell fees** that adjust based on timing. Buy fees are the same for everyone; sell fees reward patience and penalize panic selling. Some fees are paid by **users** (buyers, sellers, players) while others are paid by the **protocol** (RouterAuthority) on behalf of users. *** ## Who Pays What A summary of every fee on Streamlock and who bears the cost: | Fee | Rate | Paid By | Deducted From | Recipient | | ------------------------------------ | -------------------- | ------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Buy fee (flat) | 3% | Buyer | SOL input | 40% holders / 10% creator / 30% LP / 20% protocol | | Buy fee (epoch pressure) | 1–10% | Buyer | SOL input (additive) | 40% holders / 10% creator / 30% LP / 20% protocol | | Buy fee cap | Max 13% | Buyer | SOL input | 40% holders / 10% creator / 30% LP / 20% protocol | | Sell fee (time-decay) | 50% → 1% | Seller | SOL output | 40% holders / 10% creator / 30% LP / 20% protocol | | Stream creation | 0.19% | Buyer | Token amount at escrow | Streamflow *(Streamflow-backed pools only — Locksmith pools pay nothing)* | | Gaming operator rake *(coming soon)* | 2% | Player | Game stakes | Protocol treasury | | Dispute fee *(coming soon)* | 0.1 SOL | Disputer | Escrowed SOL (refunded if valid) | Escrow | | Network fee (buy) | \~0.000005 SOL | Buyer | Wallet balance | Solana validators | | Network fee (sell) | \~0.000005 SOL | Seller | Wallet balance | Solana validators | | Network fee (claim proceeds) | \~0.000005 SOL | Claimant | Wallet balance | Solana validators | | Settlement tx fee | \~0.000005–0.01 SOL | **RouterAuthority** | Protocol funds | Solana validators | | Close-position tx fee (settle step) | \~0.000005–0.01 SOL | **RouterAuthority** | Protocol funds | Solana validators | | Stream-update tx fee | \~0.000005 SOL | **RouterAuthority** | Protocol funds | Solana validators | | LST stake/unstake crank tx fee | \~0.000005 SOL | **RouterAuthority** | Protocol funds | Solana validators | | Settlement fee | 1% | Stream owner | Entitlement BPS at settlement | Protocol treasury | | JitoSOL withdrawal fee | 0.1% of unstaked SOL | **Protocol** (from yield) | Staking yield | JitoSOL stake pool | | Token launch (mint + pool init) | \~0.1 SOL | Creator | Wallet balance | Solana (rent + validators) | *** ## Buy Fees Buy fees are **paid by the buyer** and deducted from SOL input before the swap executes. The base fee is a **flat 3%** regardless of price progress. An additional **epoch pressure** fee applies during heavy trading activity. ### Base Fee A flat **3%** of SOL input, applied to every buy. Same rate whether you're buying at 10% or 95% to target — no dead zones, no punishment for pushing the last mile. ### Epoch Pressure Fee If buying capacity is heavily used in a 5-minute epoch, additional fees apply to the **buyer** to prevent manipulation: | Epoch Capacity Used | Additional Fee | | ------------------- | -------------- | | 0–20% | +1% | | 20–50% | +2% | | 50–80% | +5% | | 80–100% | +10% | ### Total Buy Fee The total buy fee (flat + epoch pressure) is capped at **13%**. | Scenario | Base Fee | Epoch Fee | Total | | ------------------------------- | -------- | --------- | ------------- | | Any progress, low activity | 3% | 1% | **4%** | | Any progress, moderate activity | 3% | 2% | **5%** | | Any progress, heavy activity | 3% | 10% | **13% (cap)** | *** ## Sell Fees Sell fees are **paid by the seller** and deducted from SOL output. They are **time-based**: they start high when the unlock window opens and decay to a minimum by the end of the unlock window. ### Fee Range * **Start of unlock window**: \~50% fee * **End of unlock window**: \~1% fee (floor) * **Formula**: Linear decay from 50% → 1% over the pool's unlock window duration So selling early in the unlock window costs more; waiting until later in the window reduces the fee. ### Why Time-Based? 1. **Rewards patience** — Selling later in the window is cheaper 2. **Diamond hands culture** — Staying through the window is rewarded with lower fees 3. **Predictable** — Fee depends on when you sell within the unlock window, not position size *** ## Settlement Fee A flat **1% (100 BPS)** protocol fee is applied when streams are settled. This is deducted from the stream owner's entitlement share at settlement time. ``` Owner: 9,900 BPS (99%) Streamlock Protocol: 100 BPS (1%) Total: 10,000 BPS (100%) ``` * **Flat rate** — Same base rate for all users * **Applied at settlement** — Not at purchase time * **Fee-free for referrals** *(coming soon)* — Users who signed up with a referral code will get their first 3 settlements fee-free * **Tier-based reductions** *(coming soon)* — Gold tier: 0.75%, Diamond+: 0.5% The protocol's share is claimed via the same `claim_proceeds()` mechanism as any other entitlement holder. *** ## Referral Revenue Share Referrers earn a portion of the protocol's buy/sell fee revenue from trades made by their referred users. This is **not an additional fee** — it's carved from the protocol's existing fee share. | Parameter | Value | | -------------- | -------------------------------- | | Referrer share | 40-50% of protocol's fee portion | | Duration | 6 months per referred user | | Cap | 5 SOL per referred user | See [Referral & Rewards](/streamlock-docs/rewards/referral-and-rewards.md) for full details. *** ## Gaming Fees *(Coming Soon)* For the zero-sum gaming system, fees will be **paid by the players**: | Fee Type | Rate | Paid By | Recipient | | ------------- | ------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------- | | Operator rake | 2% | Player (deducted from stakes) | Protocol treasury | | Dispute fee | 0.1 SOL | Disputer (refunded if valid) | Escrow | > **Note:** Gaming fees are not yet live. The gaming system is under development — game sessions and disputes exist on-chain, but the rake mechanism has not been implemented yet. *** ## Stream Creation Depends on which escrow backend the pool uses: | Backend | Per-buy stream-creation fee | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Locksmith** (new default) | **None.** Locksmith is Streamlock's native escrow — no third-party fee, no per-stream rent tax. | | **Streamflow** (legacy / opt-in) | **0.19%** of tokens at escrow, plus \~0.176 SOL account-rent fee. Paid by the buyer to Streamflow (a third party), not to Streamlock. | New pools default to Locksmith. Pools launched before 2026-04-18 and pools where the creator explicitly picked Streamflow at launch continue to pay the Streamflow fee. See [Locksmith — Native Escrow](/streamlock-docs/core-concepts/locksmith.md) for the full backend comparison. *** ## Network Fees Standard Solana transaction fees apply. Who pays depends on the transaction type: ### User-Paid Network Fees | Transaction Type | Typical Cost | Paid By | | ---------------- | -------------- | -------- | | Buy | \~0.000005 SOL | Buyer | | Sell | \~0.000005 SOL | Seller | | Claim proceeds | \~0.000005 SOL | Claimant | | Token launch | \~0.01 SOL | Creator | ### RouterAuthority-Paid Network Fees The protocol's **RouterAuthority** covers network fees for certain backend operations so users don't have to: | Transaction Type | Typical Cost | Why Protocol Pays | | -------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | Settlement (withdraw + swap + deposit) | \~0.000005–0.01 SOL | Permissionless; anyone can trigger, protocol subsidizes | | Close position (settle step) | \~0.000005–0.01 SOL | Protocol handles the settle portion of close-position | | Stream amount updates | \~0.000005 SOL | Automated backend maintenance | | LST stake/unstake cranks | \~0.000005 SOL | Automated staking of idle pool reserves into JitoSOL | These costs are negligible per-transaction and go to Solana validators. > **Note on LST staking:** Streamlock stakes idle SOL reserves into JitoSOL to earn \~6.5% APY for the protocol. This introduces **no new fees for users** — all staking costs (including JitoSOL's 0.1% withdrawal fee) are paid from yield. Pricing is unaffected thanks to virtual reserves. See [Protocol Revenue](/streamlock-docs/fees-and-economics/protocol-revenue.md) for details. *** ## Token Launch Costs Launching a token is **paid by the creator**: | Action | Cost | Paid By | | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------- | | Token creation (mint + metadata) | Network fees (\~0.01 SOL) | Creator | | Pool initialization | Network fees + rent (\~0.05 SOL) | Creator | | Initial liquidity | Your SOL + tokens | Creator | **Total:** Approximately 0.1 SOL + your initial liquidity. See [Launching a Token](/streamlock-docs/guides/launching-a-token.md) for details. *** ## Fee Examples ### Example 1: Normal Buy, Sells Late in Unlock Window ``` Buy: 1 SOL, low epoch activity → 3% + 1% = 4% = 0.04 SOL Sell: Near end of unlock window (fee decayed to ~1%) Effective sell fee: ~1% (deducted from SOL output) ``` ### Example 2: Late Buyer, Sells at Start of Unlock Window ``` Buy: 1 SOL at 90% to target → 3% + 1% = 4% = 0.04 SOL (same fee as any buyer) Sell: At start of unlock window Effective sell fee: ~50% (deducted from SOL output) ``` ### Example 3: Buy During Heavy Activity ``` Buy: 1 SOL, 60% epoch capacity used → 3% + 5% = 8% = 0.08 SOL ``` ### Example 4: Believer Strategy ``` Buy: 1 SOL, low activity → 3% + 1% = 4% = 0.04 SOL Hold: Sell near end of unlock window Effective sell fee: ~1% Total cost: ~5% ``` *** ## Fee Philosophy Streamlock's fee structure embodies the platform's ethos: > **"Built for believers, not traders."** | Behavior | Fee Impact | | ------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | Buy (any progress) | Flat 3% — same for everyone | | Sell late in unlock window | Low sell fee (\~1%) | | Sell at start of unlock window | High sell fee (\~50%) | | Buy during heavy epoch activity | Higher fee (epoch pressure up to +10%) | Buying is simple and predictable. Selling is where patience matters. The fee structure selects for holders who believe in the grind. *** ## Fee Distribution Where do fees go? ### Trading Fee Split Every buy and sell fee is split four ways via the on-chain fee splitter (`FeeSplitterConfig` PDA, default `lp_fee_bps = 3000`): | Share | Recipient | Mechanism | | ------- | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **40%** | Token holders | Merkle vault, distributed pro-rata to holders at end of each unlock window | | **10%** | Token creator | Direct transfer to creator wallet at end of each unlock window | | **30%** | LP providers | Synthetix-style accumulator, claimable any time (see [LP Provision](/streamlock-docs/fees-and-economics/lp-provision.md)) | | **20%** | Protocol treasury | Routed to `fee_recipient` PDA | The 30% LP cut and 20% protocol cut are settled continuously as trades happen (the on-chain splitter syncs whenever fees land in `fee_vault`). The 40% holder and 10% creator cuts are paid out at the end of each unlock window from the protocol's accumulated balance. > **Pool-version note:** This four-way split is the default for **all new pools** since the LP fee splitter shipped on 2026-04-12 (recalibrated 2026-04-26). A small number of legacy pools launched before that date have no splitter and use the old three-way split (50% protocol / 40% holders / 10% creator) — they earn no LP rewards because they have no LP layer. ### Other Fee Destinations | Source | Destination | Status | | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Settlement fee (1%) | Protocol treasury (via entitlement claim) | Live | | LST yield (\~6.5% APY on 70% staked) | Protocol treasury (via `fee_recipient`) | Live | | Gaming rake (2%) | Protocol treasury | *Coming soon* — game session infra exists on-chain, rake handler not implemented | | Dispute fee (0.1 SOL) | Escrow (refunded if valid) | *Coming soon* — not yet implemented | | $LOCK launch burn (1M $LOCK) | Burned (supply reduction) | *Gated* — designed but waiting on $LOCK utility activation | A portion of the protocol's 20% trading fee share is shared with referrers (40–50%) for the first 6 months per referral. This is a **redistribution**, not an additional fee. See [Referral & Rewards](/streamlock-docs/rewards/referral-and-rewards.md) for details. *** ## Holder Rewards (Accumulator) Streamlock redistributes **40% of all trading fees** collected during unlock windows directly to token holders as SOL. This incentivizes holding through unlock windows rather than panic selling. ### How It Works 1. **Accumulate** — During an unlock window, all buy and sell fees are tracked on-chain 2. **Snapshot** — When the unlock window ends, a snapshot captures all holders and their token balances 3. **Distribute** — A Merkle vault is created on-chain, funded with the 40% holder share 4. **Claim** — Holders claim their SOL reward from the token page with one click ### Who Qualifies? Any wallet holding tokens at the end of the unlock window receives a pro-rata share based on their token balance. This includes tokens held in Streamflow escrow streams. **Key incentive:** If you sell during the unlock window, you forfeit your share of the holder rewards. Those who hold earn from the fees of those who sell. ### Example ``` Unlock window total trading fees: 10 SOL → 4.0 SOL (40%) → Holder rewards vault (Merkle claim) → 1.0 SOL (10%) → Token creator → 3.0 SOL (30%) → LP providers (Synthetix accumulator) → 2.0 SOL (20%) → Protocol treasury You hold 5% of the token supply at unlock window end: → Your reward: 4.0 × 5% = 0.20 SOL (claimable immediately) ``` ### Claiming Rewards When you have unclaimed rewards, a green banner appears on the token page showing your claimable SOL. Click **Claim** to receive your SOL — no gas fee required (the protocol covers transaction costs). *** ## Calculating Your Fees Before any transaction, Streamlock shows: 1. **Gross amount** - What you're trading 2. **Fee amount** - What you'll pay in fees 3. **Net amount** - What you'll receive Always review the quote before confirming. *** ## Related * [Protocol Revenue](/streamlock-docs/fees-and-economics/protocol-revenue.md) - Revenue projections and investor economics * [Referral & Rewards](/streamlock-docs/rewards/referral-and-rewards.md) - Referral program and points system * [Buying Tokens](/streamlock-docs/guides/buying-tokens.md) - Buy fee context * [Selling Tokens](/streamlock-docs/guides/selling-tokens.md) - Sell fee strategies * [Streaming Proceeds](/streamlock-docs/core-concepts/streaming-proceeds.md) - How proceeds work