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This page summarizes platform fees and costs on Boundless. Exact amounts and rules may vary by product and region; check the in-app flow for current values.

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Common fee types

  • Creation fees: Fees for creating bounties, grant programs, hackathons, or campaigns. Bounty creation may be paid in XLM or Spark; hackathons, grants, and campaigns use XLM or other means (check in-app).
  • Transaction fees: Network (Stellar) fees for moving assets; usually small.
  • Off-ramp fees: Fees charged by the off-ramp provider when converting XLM to fiat; see the provider’s terms.

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Spark

Spark is used for bounties only. Some bounty actions (e.g., applying) consume Spark; the cost is shown before you confirm. Hackathons, grants, and campaigns do not use Spark.

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Hackathon (and milestone-based) fee math

Hackathon prizes and other milestone-based payouts use a fee model with a base rate plus a decay term so that larger milestones have a slightly lower effective fee rate. All amounts below are in USDC. The minimum milestone amount for fee calculation is 5 USDC.

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Constants

SymbolValueDescription
rbr_b0.047Business rate (4.7%)
rtr_t0.003Trustless Work rate (0.3%)
PP0.5Placeholder (decay scaling)
kk0.05Decay constant
mmin⁡m_{\min}5Minimum milestone amount (USDC)

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Fee percentage (effective rate)

The effective fee percentage you pay on a milestone of size mm (where m≥mmin⁡m \geq m_{\min}) is: fee%(m)=rb+rt−Pm⋅e−k⋅m\text{fee}\%(m) = r_b + r_t - \frac{P}{m} \cdot e^{-k \cdot m} So: fee%(m)=0.05−0.5m⋅e−0.05 m\text{fee}\%(m) = 0.05 - \frac{0.5}{m} \cdot e^{-0.05 \, m}
  • For small mm, the term 0.5me−0.05m\frac{0.5}{m} e^{-0.05 m} is larger, so the effective rate is a bit below 5%.
  • As mm increases, that term shrinks, so the effective rate approaches 5% from below.

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Total fee (in USDC)

The total fee charged on a milestone mm is: fee(m)=(rb+rt)⋅m−P⋅e−k⋅m\text{fee}(m) = (r_b + r_t) \cdot m - P \cdot e^{-k \cdot m} So: fee(m)=0.05 m−0.5⋅e−0.05 m\text{fee}(m) = 0.05 \, m - 0.5 \cdot e^{-0.05 \, m}

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Total amount you pay

The total amount (milestone + fee) is: total(m)=m+fee(m)=m+0.05 m−0.5⋅e−0.05 m\text{total}(m) = m + \text{fee}(m) = m + 0.05 \, m - 0.5 \cdot e^{-0.05 \, m}

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Split of the fee

  • Trustless Work portion: feet(m)=rt⋅m=0.003 m\text{fee}_t(m) = r_t \cdot m = 0.003 \, m
  • Business portion (revenue): revenueb(m)=rb⋅m−P⋅e−k⋅m=0.047 m−0.5⋅e−0.05 m\text{revenue}_b(m) = r_b \cdot m - P \cdot e^{-k \cdot m} = 0.047 \, m - 0.5 \cdot e^{-0.05 \, m}

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Minimum milestone

Fee calculation applies only when the milestone amount satisfies m≥mmin⁡=5m \geq m_{\min} = 5 USDC. Smaller amounts use different rules or are not allowed for this fee model.

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Example

For a prize or milestone of 100 USDC (m=100m = 100):
  • fee(100)=0.05×100−0.5×e−5≈5−0.0034≈4.997\text{fee}(100) = 0.05 \times 100 - 0.5 \times e^{-5} \approx 5 - 0.0034 \approx 4.997 USDC
  • Effective rate: ≈4.997%\approx 4.997\%
  • Total you pay: 100+4.997≈104.997100 + 4.997 \approx 104.997 USDC

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Where to see current fees

  • In the Boundless app when creating a bounty, grant, hackathon, or campaign.
  • In the off-ramp flow when converting XLM to fiat.