Ophis moves to solver-aligned pricing
A 1 bp base and capped price-improvement capture on Ophis-operated chains aligns protocol revenue with execution quality.
Ophis is changing how it earns on the chains where it operates the orderbook, solver auction, and settlement stack. Instead of charging retail users a fixed 10 basis points while returning every unit of price improvement, Ophis will charge a 1 bp base fee and earn primarily when execution beats the reference quote.
On volatile pairs, Ophis retains 80% of price improvement, capped at 30 bps of trade volume. On same-chain stablecoin pairs, Ophis retains 50%, capped at 10 bps. The base remains 1 bp in both cases.
The change applies to Ophis-operated Optimism, Unichain, and Robinhood Chain. CoW-hosted chains keep their existing flat Ophis fee path because their upstream fee policy is controlled by CoW Protocol.
Why change the model?
A flat fee rewards volume whether execution is ordinary or exceptional. The new model connects most Ophis revenue to the outcome its solver network produces: when execution does not improve on the reference quote, Ophis earns only 1 bp; when solvers create measurable improvement, Ophis shares in it.
This produces a clearer operating incentive:
- improve routing and solver competition;
- increase the value produced per trade;
- grow sovereign-chain volume;
- earn more when users receive better execution.
It also lowers the predictable fixed charge from 10 bps to 1 bp on sovereign chains. The variable component is bounded, so an unusually stale market or large price move cannot create an unlimited fee.
The exact schedule
| Pair | Base | Ophis share of improvement | Capture cap | Maximum Ophis charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volatile | 1 bp | 80% | 30 bps of volume | 31 bps |
| Stablecoin | 1 bp | 50% | 10 bps of volume | 11 bps |
For a $100,000 volatile trade with 20 bps of reference-quote improvement, the base is $10 and the improvement capture is $160, for $170 total. The trader still receives the remaining $40 of improvement.
For a $100,000 stablecoin trade with the same 20 bps improvement, the 10 bps cap binds: Ophis receives $10 base plus $100 captured improvement. Improvement beyond the cap goes to the trader.
Reference quote, not slippage tolerance
The calculation uses the backend reference quote. It does not measure from the user’s signed limit or treat loose slippage tolerance as protocol revenue. That distinction matters: the fee should reflect execution Ophis created, not room the trader allowed for safe settlement.
The reference quote, capture factor, and volume cap are applied by the Ophis backend. A custom frontend or direct API client cannot remove the protocol policy by omitting fee metadata.
What remains unchanged
Orders remain self-custodial, gasless for ERC-20 swaps, MEV-protected through batch settlement, and bounded by the signed limit price. Integrators can still add an onboarded fee of their own, and Ophis continues to take 0% of that integrator markup.
On CoW-hosted chains, the existing schedule remains:
- 10 bps for retail volatile flow;
- 5 bps for partner volatile flow;
- 1 bp for same-chain stablecoin pairs;
- CoW Protocol’s upstream fees apply separately.
A model designed to evolve
The initial caps are guardrails, not permanent ceilings. Ophis will measure the volume-weighted distribution of reference-quote improvement, the share of trades that hit each cap, and the revenue and volume response by pair type. As the dataset grows, capture caps can be reviewed transparently.
The objective is straightforward: maximize sustainable protocol revenue by making Ophis better at the work users route through it. See the canonical pricing page and the complete fee documentation for the current terms.