Fees

Safenet charges a USDC-denominated fee for transaction checks. Sentinels earn fee revenue for performing checks and post bonds that create economic accountability for their decisions. At launch, the fee is 0.40 USDC per check and each participating Sentinel posts an 800 USDC bond per check. Both values are governed by Safenet’s economic parameters and can change over time.

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Paying for a check

A Safenet request must include the configured transaction-check fee. Who ultimately pays can depend on the wallet or integration. A check may be funded by the user, a wallet provider, or another sponsor through the supported payment flow. Who pays does not affect how Safenet evaluates the transaction.

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Fee distribution

At launch, the full 0.40 USDC transaction-check fee is split equally among the Sentinels that participate in the check. For example, in a hypothetical case with five participating Sentinels, each would receive 0.08 USDC. If Sentinels disagree and the check enters arbitration, the arbitration outcome determines which Sentinels can claim a fee share. Sentinel transaction fees are separate from SAFE-denominated participant rewards. See Safenet results for the result model and Sentinels for Sentinel participation.

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Sentinel bonds

Each participating Sentinel posts a bond for the check. At launch, the bond is 800 USDC per Sentinel per check, derived from the configured transaction fee. The bond creates economic accountability for Sentinel decisions. Sentinels normally recover their bonds after the check is resolved. If a Sentinel is subject to slashing under the protocol rules, part of its bond is slashed instead. At launch, the slashed amount is 0.40 USDC per Sentinel, equal to the transaction-check fee. It is proposed that SafeDAO increase this slashed amount over time, up to the full bond.

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Fee governance

SafeDAO governs Safenet’s fee and bond parameters, including:

• The transaction-check fee amount.
• The SafeDAO fee share.
• Sentinel bond and slashing parameters.
• The address receiving DAO-controlled protocol funds.

At launch, the SafeDAO fee share is 0%, so the transaction fee is fully distributed among participating Sentinels. SafeDAO can increase this share through governance. A non-zero share would direct part of Safenet’s transaction-fee revenue to DAO-controlled protocol funds. Approved changes take effect through the applicable SafeDAO governance process. See Governance for how Safenet parameters are governed.