Economics
Fee model, gas costs, and cost projections for AutoLoop automation.
Fee-on-Execution Model
AutoLoop charges a fee on every loop execution to sustain the protocol and compensate controllers. You only pay when loops actually run.
Every call to progressLoop() charges the registered contract owner:
- Gas reimbursement — actual gas consumed (including a fixed buffer of 94,293 gas for overhead)
- Base fee — 70% of the update's gas cost, charged on top of gas reimbursement
Fee Calculation
fee = (txGas * tx.gasprice * 70) / 100
controllerFee = (fee * 50) / 100
totalCost = gasCost + fee
Controller receives: gasCost + controllerFee
Protocol accumulates: fee - controllerFee
Contract is charged: totalCostProtocol / Controller Split
| Recipient | Share of Base Fee |
|---|---|
| Protocol | 50% |
| Controller | 50% |
The controller also receives the full gas reimbursement.
Gas Costs by Loop Type
| Loop Type | Median Gas | Cost per Tick (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | ~90,000 | ~$0.008 |
| Hybrid VRF (avg, VRF every 10th) | ~105,000 | ~$0.010 |
| Full VRF | ~240,000 | ~$0.022 |
Based on ~0.05 gwei gas price and ETH at ~$2,000. Actual costs vary with network conditions.
Cost Per Game Session (Standard)
| Duration | Ticks/sec | Total Ticks | 2026 Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 1 | 300 | $2.53 |
| 10 min | 1 | 600 | $5.05 |
| 5 min | 10 | 3,000 | $25.25 |
| 10 min | 10 | 6,000 | $50.51 |
Cost Per Game Session (Hybrid VRF)
VRF every 10th tick — average ~105k gas per tick:
| Duration | Ticks/sec | Total Ticks | 2026 Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 1 | 300 | $2.93 |
| 10 min | 1 | 600 | $5.85 |
| 5 min | 10 | 3,000 | $29.26 |
| 10 min | 10 | 6,000 | $58.52 |
Cost Per Game Session (Full VRF)
| Duration | Ticks/sec | Total Ticks | 2026 Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 min | 1 | 300 | $6.69 |
| 10 min | 1 | 600 | $13.38 |
| 5 min | 10 | 3,000 | $66.88 |
| 10 min | 10 | 6,000 | $133.76 |
Deposits & Balances
Contract owners must deposit ETH into AutoLoop before their contract can be executed. Each progressLoop() call deducts totalCost from the contract's balance. If the balance is too low, the transaction reverts.
Refunds
Contract owners can request a refund of their entire unused balance via requestRefund(). The full remaining balance is sent to the specified address and the on-chain balance is reset to zero.
Configurable Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
BASE_FEE | 70% | % of gas cost charged as fee |
PROTOCOL_FEE_PORTION | 50% | % of base fee to protocol |
CONTROLLER_FEE_PORTION | 50% | % of base fee to controller |
MAX_GAS | 1,000,000 | Default max gas per execution |
GAS_BUFFER | 94,293 | Overhead gas outside contract update |