Fees & how we make money
Payouts come from the collateral traders deposited, not from our revenue. We charge two things: a mint fee when a complete pair is created and a redemption fee when a winner is claimed. Both are listed per market. Trading on Raydium adds the pool's swap fee, most of which goes to whoever supplied the liquidity, and Solana network fees.
What the platform collects
Creating a complete set
Creating a pair makes one YES and one NO at the same time. The 1 USDC goes into the payout reserve, and the mint fee goes to a separate fee account. The fee is added on top of the 1 USDC; it never comes out of the pair's backing.
Merging a pair, or claiming a win
Merging hands back one YES and one NO and releases 1 USDC from the reserve, before the market's redemption fee. Redeeming a winning token does the same thing after final resolution: 1 USDC gross per token, less the same fee.
The contract keeps the fee account separate from the payout reserve.
What a Raydium trade costs
Buying or selling an existing YES or NO token is a swap, not a mint. A swap does not automatically incur the mint fee.
A Raydium pool carries two separate charges, both fixed when the pool is created: a trade fee split between liquidity providers and Raydium, and a creator fee paid to whoever created the pool. Science Markets has configured no pool, so neither fee currently pays us anything. A tier is permanent for the life of its pool.
Configured rates, market by market
1 basis point (bp) = 0.01%. A configured zero is shown as zero; an unset fee is not.
The operator's fee schedule, the default every market is listed with
Create 100 pairs: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net. Losing tokens pay 0 and take no fee.
Computed from the recorded operator rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places, using the same arithmetic a configured market's schedule uses. It is not a Raydium swap quote.
Market-by-market rates (16 markets)
ASGARD · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
AXION · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
DEOS · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
DMAT · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
ECS3 · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
ENCL · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
IRON · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
NEUR · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
NS3D · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
NUMA · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
PDEC · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
PNP · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
QSUP · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
RIEM · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
RNA · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
WATER · Rates configured locally
100 pairs, with these configured rates
Create: pay 101 USDC. 100 USDC backs 100 YES + 100 NO; 1 USDC goes to the fee account.
Merge those pairs: 100 USDC leaves the reserve. Receive 98 USDC; 2 USDC goes to the fee account.
Mint then merge: 3 USDC, excluding network costs. Redeeming 100 winning tokens instead pays the same 98 USDC net.
Computed from this market's rates, with each fee rounded down to six USDC decimal places. Not a Raydium swap quote. USDC amounts are dollar-denominated, not a guarantee of dollar value.
Defaults & calculation details
New-market mint default: 1% · 100 bps. Redemption default: 2% · 200 bps. These are the operator's recorded decision and prefill the console form; a market's own fixed schedule, once set, is what its trades quote. Losing tokens pay no fee.
- Exact rounding: fees = floor(amount in millionths of USDC × fee bps ÷ 10,000). Mint cost = backing + fee. Merge or winning receipt = gross backing − fee. The contract caps each rate at 1,000 bps (10%); that is a limit, not the chosen rate.
- No winning payout, no redemption fee: losing tokens pay 0.
- Fee control: the contract's fee account is separate from the payout reserve. Its admin can sweep collected fees to a USDC account.
Costs that are not our protocol fees
Spread, price impact & slippage
The bid/ask spread is the gap between selling and buying prices, and it is not a platform payment. Price impact is the movement your own order causes. Slippage is the difference between the quote and what you actually get, and a slippage limit is protection, not a fee. Check the final swap quote in the wallet, not the chart.
Network costs & USDC risk
Solana charges transaction fees in SOL; priority fees and account-creation deposits ("rent") may also apply. Those are not Science Markets revenue. Wallets and funding services may add their own charges. USDC can lose its dollar peg, be frozen by its issuer, or face issuer and redemption risk.
A new pool is thin
Every market's pool starts with the liquidity put into it, and no more. A small order can move the price a long way, most of all when the estimate is near 0 or 1, because almost all of the starting liquidity then sits on the other side. Read the quote your wallet returns before you confirm it; that number already includes the depth. This page cannot show it for you.
Before sending funds, check the market page for its fee rates and pool addresses, and confirm the token addresses in your wallet.