The volume gate and the tranches
Five tranches, their formulas and their deadlines.
The escrow releases a raise in five 20% tranches. Each one has a rule and a deadline.
Tranche 1: go live
Released when 10 distinct traders route fills through the app’s builder code over 3 days. The app has 60 days from funding to hit it.
Tranches 2 to 5: routed notional
Each needs 2,000 USDC of routed notional per USDC released, plus a rising count of distinct traders: 25, 50, 100, 200.
| Tranche | Release | Traders | Notional per USDC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20% | 10 over 3 days | — |
| 2 | 20% | 25 | 2,000 |
| 3 | 20% | 50 | 2,000 |
| 4 | 20% | 100 | 2,000 |
| 5 | 20% | 200 | 2,000 |
What doesn’t count
- Self-fills, where both sides belong to the same address.
- Fills from the builder’s own listed addresses.
- Traders seen for the first time in the same hour as a cluster of identical-size fills.
At 2,000 USDC per USDC released, faking the volume costs roughly what it unlocks in taker fees.
Going quiet
If a live app routes nothing for 30 days, the unreleased part of its escrow goes back to backers.