BULK Exchange Fee Structure: Maker/Taker Rates, Genesis Phase, and the Alpha Program

BULK Exchange charges 2.2–3.5 bps taker fees and offers maker rebates up to −2.0 bps post-Genesis. For the first 30 days of mainnet — the Genesis Phase — maker fees are zero across all volume tiers.

This page covers the complete fee schedule, how volume tiers work, the validator revenue share, and the Alpha Program for professional market makers.

No Hidden Fees: What This Means

Most trading venues have costs beyond the headline maker/taker spread:

• Liquidation fees charged to the liquidated trader
• Payment for order flow (PFOF) — market makers pay to see your order before it reaches the book
• Hidden spread costs built into oracle-derived execution prices

BULK Exchange’s documented position:

“No liquidation fee, no flow payment, no hidden spread cost.” — BULK Exchange Architecture Documentation

All fees are calculated per fill in real-time USDC credits based on a 14-day rolling volume window (15-day during Genesis Phase).

Genesis Phase Fees (First 30 Days of Mainnet)

The Genesis Phase runs for the first 30 calendar days after mainnet launch, expected around June 1, 2026.

Key takeaway: Every trader and market maker pays zero maker fees during Genesis regardless of volume tier. A $100k market maker and a $10B market maker pay the same 0 bps — this is the window to establish position and volume history before the standard schedule activates.

Standard Fee Schedule (Post-Genesis)

After Genesis Phase ends, the standard fee schedule activates based on a 14-day rolling volume window.

Negative maker fees are rebates — Tier 6–8 makers receive USDC per fill in addition to the spread.

Fee context vs. competitors:

Sub-Account Volume Aggregation

All sub-accounts created under a master wallet roll up to the master account for tier calculation.

Why this matters: A trader running five separate strategies across five sub-accounts gets tier credit for the combined volume of all accounts. A $10M/day operation spread across 10 sub-accounts still qualifies for Tier 7 pricing — not Tier 1.

Up to 64 sub-accounts per master wallet. Each sub-account maintains independent positions and margin, but fee tier is shared across all of them.

The Validator Revenue Share

12.5% of all BULK Exchange trading fees are distributed to the BULK Network validator set.

At various volume levels:

This validator revenue flows to BulkSOL holders as yield stream #3 — on top of base staking and MEV tips. As BULK trading volume grows, BulkSOL yield grows proportionally.

Commission Fees (Coming Soon)

BULK Exchange will allow third-party integrators to set commission rates on top of base fees. Per the architecture docs:

• Integrators can set custom commission rates for their users
• BULK’s National Best Bid and Offer (NBBO) is maintained — no internalization
• Full price transparency is preserved regardless of integrator commissions

This is the infrastructure layer for exchanges, trading interfaces, and bots to build on top of BULK while sharing in fee revenue.

The Alpha Program: Market Maker Incentives

The Alpha Program is BULK Exchange’s structured market making incentive. It distributes an additional 7.5% of taker fee revenue per 30-day epoch to qualifying market makers.

Allocation is based on a Quality Score:

No KYC required to participate in the Alpha Program. Any account can enroll and begin earning quality score metrics.

At $100M daily volume, 7.5% of taker fees = $2,400/day distributed to Alpha Program participants, in addition to maker rebates.

How Fees Are Calculated

Fees are calculated per fill, not per order. A single resting limit order that fills in three separate executions generates three separate fee calculations.

Formula (post-Genesis, Tier 1 maker):

Maker fee = Fill notional × 0.0002 (2.0 bps)
Taker fee = Fill notional × 0.00035 (3.5 bps)

Fees are credited/debited from account balance in real-time USDC at fill time. No settlement delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are BULK Exchange fees? BULK Exchange charges 2.2–3.5 bps taker fees depending on 14-day rolling volume tier. Maker fees range from −2.0 bps (rebate) to 2.0 bps post-Genesis. During the first 30 days of mainnet (Genesis Phase), maker fees are zero across all tiers.

Does BULK Exchange charge liquidation fees? No. Per the architecture documentation: “No liquidation fee.” The insurance fund absorbs liquidation shortfalls; traders are not charged additional fees on liquidated positions.

How does the Genesis Phase work? Genesis Phase is the first 30 calendar days after mainnet launch. During this period, maker fees are 0 bps across all eight volume tiers, regardless of trading volume. Only taker fees apply.

What is the BULK Exchange Alpha Program? The Alpha Program distributes 7.5% of taker fee revenue per 30-day epoch to qualifying market makers based on a Quality Score that weights open interest share (40%), spread/depth (30%), uptime (20%), and volume (10%).

How do sub-accounts affect fee tiers? All sub-accounts under a master wallet aggregate volume for tier calculation. Ten sub-accounts each trading $1M/day = $10M total = Tier 2 pricing, not Tier 1.

All fee data sourced from BULK Exchange documentation. Last updated May 28, 2026.

Trade during Genesis Phase — 0 maker fees → early.bulk.trade