You deploy a contract. Your users pay to interact with it. The network gives you...nothing. You drive the activity that helps give the network value, but you don't share in its success.
This is the deal crypto builders accepted everywhere, but Shape flipped the script with Gasback.
Starting with v1, builders on Shape receive a share of all sequencer fees generated by their contracts. And now with v2 that payment will be direct, in ETH, distributed automatically after every single transaction.
V2: HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER
Gasback v1 introduced the novel concept of sustainably rewarding builders through scalable network-level incentives - but there was friction from protocol restrictions. Distributions came in batches, which were periodic and required manual processing, and L1 gas costs added complexity that couldn't efficiently scale as activity grew.
Gasback v2 fixes this. Distribution will now happen in real-time, with no waiting periods and no middlemen. Better yet, the system grants builders more control through a customizable "buffer".
We'll get to the buffer shortly, but first let's cover these scalable network-level incentives.
SCALABLE NETWORK-LEVEL INCENTIVES
If your contract calls Gasback v2, you receive a share of the sequencer fees. Every transaction. Real-time.
When your contract calls Gasback v2, the transaction fee splits the moment it's paid and is distributed to:
- You, the builder
- The Buyback contract, to power the decentralized onchain buyback mechanism for $SHAPE
- The L1 Fee Vault, to ensure Ethereum validators receive their fair share for helping keep Shape secure
- The Optimism Collective, to help fund public goods for everyone
- Alchemy, to help power the critical infrastructure partner
- Structura, to help strengthen the DUNA guiding the protocol
- Pattern Engine, to help support the team building core onchain systems
You get the largest share of the sequencer fees, and you have the choice to buff that even further.
GASBACK: BUFFED
Shape has low fees by design and that isn't changing. So, to give you more control, Gasback v2 introduces the option to add a "buffer" to your contract - a fully customizable fee users pay on top of the standard tx cost.
Say the standard gas fee is $0.001 and you set a buffer of $0.002. A user interacting with your contract pays $0.003 total, and you receive the largest share of that total amount.
Now run those numbers forward. A contract with modest traction might see 10m transactions over a few years and, even at fractions of a cent per tx, that adds up. Now scale it to 100m transactions, 1bn, 10bn. All received in Shape's native gas token, ETH, at a rate you decide.
Want to set the buffer to zero? You still receive your share of the standard fee, so long as your contract calls Gasback v2. Set it higher? You capture more value per transaction. The choice is yours, and you can continuously adjust as your product evolves.
GASBACK ➡ BUYBACK
Remember - a minimum of 1% of all sequencer fees goes to the Buyback contract, the decentralized onchain buyback mechanism for $SHAPE.
Now if your contract calls Gasback v2, you receive funds instantly and automatically - but governance controls the final distribution split between you, the contract owner, and the Buyback.
Governance can adjust this split based on what they believe is best for the protocol. We believe the ultimate goal should be full ecosystem alignment:
- More builders ship on Shape
- More ETH flows into the Buyback contract
- More $SHAPE is bought back to send to Structura, the DUNA of the protocol, and to programmatically burn
Governance then decides what to do with the $SHAPE Structura accumulates. There's probably a creative way to really juice this flywheel…
DON'T LEAVE YOUR FEES ON THE TABLE
Ship on Shape and you natively earn from the onchain activity you generate. Ship elsewhere and you don't.
Once Gasback v2 goes live, you can integrate it in three simple steps:
- Add a call to your contract
- Set a buffer, if you want
- Deploy to Shape
Then watch it work in real-time.
Gasback v1 made sure value flows back to those who generated the activity.
Gasback v2 decentralizes the system & buffs its speed and scope.
Network-level incentives: shaped ⚫