Economics
Beginner
Updated 1/15/2025
What is
UI Fee?
Optional fees charged by frontend interfaces for DeFi protocols, rewarding developers who build user-friendly access to decentralized applications.
UI fees are optional charges that frontend interface providers can add when users interact with DeFi protocols through their interface. Since DeFi protocols are permissionless smart contracts, anyone can build a frontend to access them. UI fees incentivize developers to create and maintain quality user interfaces by allowing them to earn revenue from usage. On Ergo, protocols like Spectrum Finance may have UI fees that go to the team maintaining the interface, separate from the protocol fees that go to liquidity providers.
Key Points
- Fees charged by frontend interfaces, not protocols
- Incentivizes quality UI development
- Separate from protocol/liquidity provider fees
- Usually optional - can use different frontends
- Supports sustainable dApp development
- Common in DeFi ecosystem
Use Cases
1
Understanding DeFi fee structures
2
Evaluating total transaction costs
3
Supporting dApp development sustainably
4
Comparing different frontend options
Technical Details
UI fees are typically added to transactions by the frontend before submission. They're separate from miner fees and protocol fees. Users can often avoid UI fees by using alternative frontends or interacting directly with smart contracts, though this requires technical knowledge. The fee structure is usually transparent and disclosed in the interface.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about UI Fee
Common questions about this topic
What can I do with Ergo?
Ergo supports a full ecosystem: trade on Spectrum DEX, use SigmaUSD stablecoin, mix transactions with ErgoMixer, collect NFTs on SkyHarbor, mine with GPUs, lend/borrow on DuckPools, bridge to other chains via Rosen, and build dApps with ErgoScript. It's a complete platform for decentralized finance and applications.
Explainer
Getting Started
How to use Spectrum DEX on Ergo?
Connect your Nautilus wallet to Spectrum Finance, select tokens to swap, review the rate and slippage, then confirm. Spectrum uses AMM liquidity pools for instant trades. You can also provide liquidity to earn fees. All trades are atomic - they complete fully or not at all, with no front-running possible.
How-to
DeFi
What is storage rent on Ergo?
Storage rent is Ergo's mechanism for long-term sustainability. Boxes (UTXOs) that remain unspent for ~4 years pay a small fee, which goes to miners. This prevents state bloat, recirculates lost coins, and ensures miners have income even after emission ends. It's like paying rent for blockchain storage space.
Explainer
Technology
How do miners earn money on Ergo?
Ergo miners earn from three sources: block rewards (newly minted ERG), transaction fees, and storage rent. Block rewards decrease over time according to the emission schedule, but storage rent ensures long-term income even after all ERG is mined. Most miners use pools for consistent payouts.
How-to
Mining