💰Trade & Earn
Earn VRTX by trading on Vertex.
Vertex users can earn trading rewards via simply trading on the DEX.
The Trade & Earn program is designed to align long-term incentives between users and the future growth of Vertex by rewarding users for their activity. The program comprises token incentives allocated to users pro-rata based on their trading activity over the course of each program epoch.
Dual trading rewards are currently available to Vertex users in VRTX.
You can find a breakdown of the trading rewards for both tokens on Vertex in the sections below.
Trade more, earn more.
09/11/2024: Stage 1 of VRTX Vertical Program was recently announced as the first chapter in a series of upgrades to the VRTX Tokenomics over the coming weeks and months. Please refer to the blog post below for an overview of the Vertical Program. Updates will continue to be relayed publicly and reflected in the VRTX documentation accordingly.
$VRTX Trading Rewards Program
Vertex’s native rewards program incentivizes users via the VRTX token to perform various actions within the Vertex app. VRTX rewards are available to anyone interacting with the protocol based on several qualifying conditions and parameters iterated in this section.
Known as the Trade & Earn program, rewards in the VRTX token are allocated to users pro-rata relative to the total pool size of VRTX tokens earmarked for each epoch of the rewards program.
The Trade & Earn program is designed to align long-term incentives between users and the future growth of the Vertex protocol by rewarding users for their activity with VRTX tokens.
Please refer to the section here for details about the VRTX Tokenomics.
The VRTX token rewards program comprises the VRTX tokens earmarked for the Ongoing Incentives Phase and Initial Token Phase portions of the VRTX token supply distribution, reflecting the following percentage allocations of the 1 billion total VRTX tokens.
Ongoing Incentives = 34.0%
Initial Token Phase = 10.0%
Total Available VRTX (Trade & Earn Program) = 44%
UPDATE: As of November 8th, 2023 the Initial Token Phase of the Trade & Earn program has concluded. The Ongoing Incentives Phase commenced with Epoch #8 on November 8th, 2023. Readers can skip down to the Ongoing Incentives Phase section to learn more.
It’s important to clarify the difference between the two phases of the Vertex Trade & Earn program where VRTX rewards are distributed to users:
Initial Token Phase
Ongoing Incentives Phase
Both phases are enumerated in detail in the sections below.
Please refer to the Vertex Terms of Service and the disclaimer at the bottom of this page for details concerning the explicit ban of wash trading on Vertex, including the resulting consequences for violating the terms relevant to the Trading Rewards.
Initial Token Phase
The first phase of the Trade & Earn program was the Initial Token Phase, comprising 10.0% of the total VRTX supply. The Initial Token Phase ran for 7 months from the Vertex mainnet launch on Arbitrum in April 2023 until November 8th, 2023.
The Initial Token Phase of the Vertex Trade & Earn program has officially concluded as of November 8th, 2023. Epoch #8 of the Trade & Earn program officially launched on the same day -- commencing the Ongoing Incentives Phase of the Trade & Earn program that runs for the next 6+ years.
The Initial Token Phase was primarily a trading incentive program with the principal objectives to:
Incentivize traders to use various aspects of the Vertex application.
Augment market liquidity on Vertex.
Offer users an avenue to share in protocol growth by contributing to the DEX.
The 10.0% of the VRTX supply in the Initial Token Phase consisted of a pool of VRTX tokens that were earned per user -- pro-rata every epoch.
Summary of Parameters defining the Initial Token Phase include:
1 Epoch = 28 Days
Total VRTX Tokens in Pool = 100,000,000
Total Epochs = 7
Ongoing Incentives Phase (Active)
The second part of the Trade & Earn program is the Ongoing Incentives Phase, comprising 34.0% of the total VRTX token supply. VRTX trading rewards are available to both takers and makers on Vertex.
11/08/2023: The Ongoing Incentives phase is currently active, which began with Trade & Earn Epoch #8.
Any VRTX trading rewards accrued via the Ongoing Incentives Phase are claimable 3 days after an Epoch concludes.
Any VRTX rewards that remain unclaimed for the subsequent 30 days will be returned to the Protocol Treasury.
The Ongoing Incentives Phase represents the Trade & Earn rewards portion of Vertex's ongoing emissions schedule for the next 6+ years.
There are no restrictions on token rewards, meaning there is no vesting period nor is there a cap on the value of rewards.
Monthly VRTX Token Allocation Emissions Breakdown:
Ongoing Incentives Phase Parameters:
1 Epoch = 28 Days
Total VRTX Tokens in Pool = 340,000,000
Total Epochs = 72+
VRTX Rewards Breakdown
The percentages of VRTX Trading Rewards allocated to each listed market on Vertex are defined below and updated in the Market Specifications section consistently to reflect any changes.
Taker Rewards
Users can earn VRTX by trading as a taker on Vertex throughout the Ongoing Incentives Phase of the Trade & Earn program.
Trading rewards for takers are distributed in VRTX. The pool of incentives is split and distributed proportionally to traders based on their taker fees paid. Please refer to the section here for more details on the calculations.
The VRTX rewards for users are displayed on the Rewards Page of the Vertex app.
The following changes for Taker Rewards are actively in effect moving forward:
Spot Markets: The ARB, ETH, and BTC spot markets will have their own allocation for VRTX token rewards -- meaning they will no longer be combined with corresponding perpetual markets.
USDT Taker Rewards: The USDT taker rewards will be capped at a maximum of 5%. In other words, a minimum of 95% of a given epoch's taker rewards will be calculated across all markets excluding stable-pairs.
You can find further details on the cross-chain fee structure via Vertex Edge in the fee section of the Vertex docs.
Trading Fees
Maker Rewards
Makers qualifying for the Vertex Maker Program can earn VRTX rewards. The market specifications table below displays reward percentages per market.
The table explicitly refers to Maker rewards. It does NOT reflect Taker rewards.
The Maker reward percentages allocated to each market below are subject to change following new listings and will be updated accordingly.
The Ongoing Incentives Phase separate reward functions into different categories of users across Vertex’s core products. For more details on user types on Vertex, please refer to the fees section covering the subject here.
VRTX Rewards Distribution Cross-Chain -- Edge
Each of the Arbitrum and Mantle instances for Vertex Edge have their own market specs and maker reward weights to support each blockchain’s native economy.
Total Reward Pool: There is a total amount of VRTX tokens allocated for rewards for each epoch (~28 days), which is then split between the two chains (Arbitrum & Mantle).
Dynamic Reward Allocation: The distribution of rewards is dynamically adjusted based on the activity and performance metrics of each chain.
Incentivization: This method aims to balance incentives across both chains, encouraging active participation and liquidity provision where it is most needed.
Examples:
More maker activity on Arbitrum via Edge = More VRTX maker rewards on Arbitrum.
More taker activity on Mantle via Edge = More VRTX taker rewards on Mantle.
The Rewards Page on Vertex (Arbitrum) will show Arbitrum-only VRTX rewards but will be the single location for users to claim rewards across all chains supported by Edge.
The Rewards Page on Mantle will display VRTX rewards specific to that chain.
Maker & Taker Reward Calculations
VRTX Maker Rewards:
XVRTX will be given to makers on Arbitrum.Total / 2 - XVRTX will be given to makers on Mantle.
Maker Rewards Calculations:
X / (Total / 2 - X) = sum(q_score, across products on Arbitrum) / sum(q_score, across products on Mantle)
VRTX Taker Rewards:
YVRTX will be given to takers on Arbitrum.Total / 2 - YVRTX will be given to takers on Mantle.
Taker Rewards Calculations:
Y / (Total / 2 - Y) = Total Taker Fees on Arbitrum / Total Taker Fees on Mantle
Vertex Maker Program
Vertex’s trading fee structure is supplemented by the Vertex Maker Program, a rebate-based trading fee incentive program for price makers that contribute in excess of 0.25% of maker volume in a given epoch.
1 Epoch = 28 Days
Maker Rebates
Additionally, the Maker Program offers VRTX token incentives allocated to a scoring function that prioritizes:
Market Support
Uptime
Fees
The scoring function is as follows:
The minimum depth and maximum spreads per market are as follows:
Depth:
$25K for stables.
$5K for core markets (BTC & ETH).
$2.5K for alt markets (non-BTC & non-ETH).
Spreads:
10 bps for stable.
30 bps for core markets (BTC & ETH).
50 bps for alt markets (non-BTC & non-ETH).
Any future VRTX earned by users during the Trade & Earn program's Ongoing Incentives Phase are viewable on the Rewards Page of the Vertex app.
Sequencer Fees are not included in the Trading Rewards calculations for either makers or takers -- meaning they do not generate VRTX rewards.
Rewards Page
The Rewards Page is located on the Vertex app and contains all of the relevant information for users related to their current VRTX reward distributions.
The Rewards Page serves as a hub for users to track their trading rewards for:
The Ongoing Incentives Phase for the remainder of the VRTX token emissions schedule.
NOTE: The ARB trading rewards from the STIP-Bridge program on the Arbitrum DAO officially ended on September 16th, 2024. Trading rewards on Vertex will continue in VRTX under the new token emissions schedule detailed in the VRTX Vertical Program.
Disclaimer – Vertex and its affiliates intend to offer a token rewards program to distribute governance tokens to a decentralized community in connection with the anticipated launch of the Vertex DAO. Terms and conditions of the token rewards program are subject to change. There can be no assurance that the token distribution program or the DAO will be launched or that rewards will be available related to participation on Vertex Protocol or otherwise. Vertex will consider legal, regulatory, and any other matters deemed relevant in connection with its decision to launch a token distribution program and a DAO.
***Wash trading on Vertex is strictly prohibited and explicitly banned under Vertex’s Terms of Service.
Attempts to wash trade on Vertex in any capacity, whether to manipulate the VRTX Trading Rewards or for any other reason, will be dealt with swiftly and appropriately.
Wash trading typically involves two accounts trading directly against each other to induce artificial market activity with specific intent. The trading usually comprises the vast majority of their volume and is trivial to detect. It is difficult to accidentally wash trade, and suspected cases of wash trading will be flagged rapidly as evidence emerges.
Addresses involved in wash trading on Vertex will be excluded from all Trading Rewards epochs. Complicit accounts will also have their addresses published as part of an ongoing list of excluded wallets from the Vertex Trading Rewards. Further actions deemed necessary may also be taken against wash trading accounts based on the circumstances.
Any impact across relevant exchange data (e.g., volume, trading fees, etc.) from wash trading on the Trading Rewards for a given epoch will be vacated, meaning regular users' VRTX rewards will NOT be diluted by wash trading activity.
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