· NO HIDDEN FEES· FIXED RATE· SKIP THE POOL TAX· NO SLIPPAGE· 0.20% PER SIDE· OPEN ACCESS· P2P ESCROW· PEER TO PEER· POST · MATCH · SWAP· ON-CHAIN ESCROW· NO HIDDEN FEES· FIXED RATE· SKIP THE POOL TAX· NO SLIPPAGE· 0.20% PER SIDE· OPEN ACCESS· P2P ESCROW· PEER TO PEER· POST · MATCH · SWAP· ON-CHAIN ESCROW
Barter

Docs

Barter litepaper

v1.7.5 — how the live clearing app works, how the product reached this point, and what remains deferred until later phases.

Product mechanics

Barter is an app-first peer-to-peer clearing desk on Base. Makers post exact token terms, takers accept at those exact terms, and the existing escrow contracts settle the swap atomically.

  • Public fee is 0.20% per side.
  • Open offers stay visible until matched, cancelled, or expired.
  • Counter offers are off-chain signed intents that still resolve into the same escrow flow.
  • Optional USD estimates help compare terms without controlling or blocking settlement.
  • Optional Telegram handoff lets makers link a wallet-signed username for off-chain coordination. Escrow and signed counters stay authoritative.

What is escrow?

Escrow is a neutral holding account on Base. Both traders deposit exactly what they agreed; the contract releases both sides together only when both deposits are in place.

Informal peer-to-peer trades often ask you to send first and trust a stranger to send back. Escrow removes that gamble: the contract holds both sides until the swap can complete fairly.

  • No send-first trust — You never have to send tokens and hope the other person follows through. Neither side receives anything until both sides have deposited.
  • Atomic release — When both deposits land, the contract swaps them in one transaction. Either the full trade completes or nothing moves — there is no half-settled state.
  • On-chain rules, not app promises — Deposits, release, cancellation, and refunds follow the verified escrow contract. Barter builds the transaction; your wallet signs it; Base enforces the outcome.
  • Timeouts and refunds — If a counterparty never deposits, you can recover your side after the contract timeout. You are not locked in indefinitely waiting on an informal P2P promise.

Barter never holds your private keys. You review each deposit and release in your wallet. For contract addresses and verification steps, see Security & verification.

When risk is highest: Most Barter-related risk is concentrated while a trade is open — when you approve tokens and deposit into escrow. That is when you should verify contracts, amounts, and the real site.

After settlement: Once escrow shows complete, settlement is done. Tokens are in your wallets and Barter is no longer in the settlement path — there is no ongoing custody or app account tied to that swap.

Example swap

How a swap works

A fixed-rate swap from post to payout. Amounts below are illustrative at the public 0.20% per-side fee.

  1. Step 01

    Post or pick an offer

    A maker posts an exact pair — for example 100 BARTER for 50 USDC. You can accept as posted or propose a signed counter.

  2. Step 02

    Open escrow

    Once terms are agreed, the maker cancels the open listing if needed and both wallets deposit the agreed amounts into the on-chain escrow contract.

  3. Step 03

    Deposit your side

    Each party approves and deposits only what the deal requires. Wallet review stays explicit — Barter never holds your keys.

  4. Step 04

    Receive your tokens

    When both deposits land, escrow releases atomically. Each side keeps roughly 99.8% of what they receive after the 0.20% protocol fee on that leg.

Worked example · 0.20% per side

Each party pays 0.20% on what they receive, not one fee split between you.

100 BARTER ↔ 50 USDC

  • Buyer fee (0.20% on BARTER received):0.2 BARTER
  • Seller fee (0.20% on USDC received):0.1 USDC
  • Buyer receives:99.8 BARTER
  • Seller receives:49.9 USDC

~0.40% combined on balanced swaps. Each side pays the same rate on what they get. Stakers pay their tier rate instead.

Fee tiers

The public app runs at a flat 0.20% per side. Where the isolated CPHY router is enabled, holding 1M CPHY gives Tier I (0.12%) and 5M gives Tier II (0%).

The optional CPHY router is an additional fee-tier feature, not the main Barter product and not a replacement for future $BARTER utility.

Live protocol contracts

Marketplace and escrow verification belongs to the live trading protocol. See Security & verification for the active contract addresses and wallet-safety guidance.

$BARTER status

$BARTER is minted and held securely. Staking for fee discounts is planned for a future phase. The app is live with 0.2% flat fees.

Existing deployed $BARTER infrastructure remains untouched. Public staking UI and fee-discount promotion are deferred until the roadmap reaches the utility activation phase.

Future utility

Public staking is planned for a future phase, not the current clearing launch. The app does not currently market staking as active product utility.

Roadmap

Barter's roadmap keeps the completed work visible so users can see the full path from protocol design to the live clearing app. Current release: v1.7.5. Minor tracks completed roadmap phases; patch increments for non-roadmap product updates. Phase 8 ships as v1.8.x.

  1. Foundation and protocol design — done. Product positioning, fixed-rate P2P flows, fee model, and launch planning on Base.
  2. Escrow and marketplace contracts — done. Offer creation, matching, atomic escrow settlement, cancellation, expiry refunds, fees, and contract tests.
  3. Frontend MVP and assistants — done. Wallet connection, posting, marketplace browsing, trade rooms, deposit review, MarketMatch, and TradeGuard.
  4. Public launch on Base — done. Live Base contracts, public web app, WalletConnect, 0.20% public fees, trust pages, and production workflow checks.
  5. $BARTER infrastructure and custody — done. Fixed supply minted, allocation and custody contracts prepared, and future utility contracts preserved. The token is not publicly activated as app utility.
  6. Counter offers and USD valuation — done. Gasless signed counters, recovery-safe escrow opening, and optional CoinGecko USD estimates across posting and offer views.
  7. Telegram trader coordination — done. Optional wallet-signed Telegram contact, public GUID share links on X, and trade-room coordination. Escrow remains the settlement source of truth.
  8. Advanced matching — next. Richer MarketMatch suggestions, smarter counter discovery, and deeper wallet-aware clearing tools.
  9. Scale and indexing — planned. Faster offer discovery and historical trade queries as usage grows.
  10. $BARTER utility activation — planned. Public staking, fee discounts, and token utility become visible only when the token phase is intentionally launched.