ASTRX

1DefinitionSee also →

Assetrix is a protocol for issuing a collateralised token whose creation price rises monotonically and never falls. External assets are placed into a wrapper, and entry into it gets more expensive with every token issued.

The founders regard this as a distinct class of crypto asset, which they call a ratchet — a coin with a rising issuance price. The definition refers solely to the price of creating new tokens, which is set by the protocol and does not decline. The market price of ASTRX has no bearing on the definition: it is determined by demand, sits within a corridor between backing and the cost of entry, and may fall.

The class is meant as a complement to the stablecoin. A stablecoin holds its face value, and loses purchasing power along with it; here the entry price is tied to a figure that rises, while the collateral remains real and reclaimable at any time.

2Position and tokenSee also →

A participant deposits collateral and receives a position — a non-fungible token holding its own collateral. The position may be redeemed at face value, or closed, which issues transferable ASTRX tokens backed by a share of the shared pool.

A position entails no nominal loss under any circumstances: the deposited collateral is returned in full, and the cost of holding it is the opportunity cost of capital rather than the risk of loss. A token carries market risk: its price may fall towards the lower boundary of the corridor. The position is for saving without market risk; the token is for paying and trading.

The protocol is non-custodial. Collateral is held in the smart contract and may be reclaimed by its owner at any time. Collateral is exogenous — the backing consists of external assets rather than the protocol’s own token, so the reserve has no way to destroy itself. This is where the design differs fundamentally from algorithmic ones.

3The price corridorSee also →

The protocol does not set the market price of ASTRX and cannot set it. It sets two other figures, and the market price lies between them.

Below sits the backing — the share of the reserve that falls to one token. This level is held up by redemption, which is open at all times: a holder exchanges tokens for a proportional share of the reserve, less the redemption fee, whenever they like. This is not a promise to buy the token back at any price, but a consequence of the design — the reserve belongs to the holders, and the way out of it does not close under any circumstance.

Above sits the cost of entry — the price at which the contract mints a new token. Anyone may enter at any time at that price, so there is no reason to pay substantially more on the market than entry costs.

4How the cost of entry risesSee also →

In Phase 1 the mint price is defined analytically and depends solely on the number of tokens already issued, running from $0.001 for the first token to $200 for the hundred-millionth. The count covers every token ever created; redemption does not reduce it, so the mint price does not fall under any outflow of participants.

Phase 1 need not run to the hundred-millionth token. Once stage 3 is complete, holders can vote, in any cycle, to end Phase 1 early and move to Phase 2 — the protocol’s main route. Waiting for the curve to be exhausted is not required.

In Phase 2 the mint price becomes a function of time and is recomputed continuously at the growth rate in force. The rate takes values from a fixed ladder: 5.6, 9, 14.5, 23.6, 38.2, 50, 61.8, 100 and 161.8 per cent a year. The minimum never becomes negative.

5Protection of backingSee also →

• Redemption is neutral — A holder who redeems takes exactly their proportional share of the reserve. The pool shrinks; the backing of those who remain does not. A collapse of backing through exit is impossible by construction.
• The protection level — Backing per token is not permitted to fall by more than a set share of its historical maximum. The permitted drawdown is 61.8 per cent by default — the most lenient rung, catastrophe protection only — and the holders can tighten it by vote down to 50, 38.2 and 23.6 per cent. A closing that would dilute the pool may use at most 38.2 per cent of the headroom above the threshold, so the remainder shrinks geometrically and the threshold is approached but never breached. No sequence of operations, no number of addresses and no splitting of positions changes this.
• Closings that raise the floor — When a position created at a high mint price is closed, its collateral joins the pool at a price above the current backing, and backing per token rises for everyone. This is the principal channel of growth. A close like this is never charged a fee — the rule is outside the reach of any vote.
• Fees that flow to the holders — The dilution fee on a closing that would lower backing is withheld in tokens that never enter circulation. The transfer fee and every token burned to cast a vote leave the supply while their collateral stays in the pool. The redemption fee stays in the reserve. These channels are strongest precisely when participants are leaving.
• The redemption multiplier — The redemption fee is multiplied by a factor that grows with the drawdown of backing from its historical maximum — 1 at no drawdown, 1.618 at 38.2 per cent, 2.618 at 61.8. The factor is continuous, so there is never a moment before which it pays to hurry out, and it returns to one by itself as backing recovers.
• Surcharges on volatile collateral — A deposit in a volatile currency pays a spread, and a further surcharge when that currency’s share of the reserve is high. Both enter the pool without creating new tokens, so they raise backing for everyone.
• Rounding — Every rounding in every operation goes the way that is safe for the reserve.

6GovernanceSee also →

The protocol’s parameters are governed by holders themselves. A vote is cast by burning tokens; their collateral stays in the pool for everyone who remains. No protocol role can alter the governed values against holders’ will, admit a collateral currency contrary to their decision, or halt the return of funds to participants.

7What the protocol does not doSee also →

• No yield — Nothing is paid out of nothing. There is no interest, no reward for holding, no distribution. What rises by the rules is the cost of entry, not what a holder receives.
• No promise about the market price — The protocol does not guarantee, support or target the market price of ASTRX. It sets the two boundaries of the corridor and leaves the rest to the market. The price can fall.
• No buy-back — The protocol does not promise to buy tokens back at any particular price. Redemption at the reserve’s proportional share is a property of the design, not a purchase.
• No protection of volatile collateral — Where the reserve holds volatile currencies, their fall lowers the floor. The contract softens this and does not remove it.
• No forecast — Everything on this site describes intent and mechanics. The market’s actual behaviour depends on circumstances beyond the protocol’s control.
• No custody — Collateral is held in the contract, never by a person or a company. No one can move it except its owner, and no one can stop its owner from reclaiming it.

8Glossary

ratchet

A class of crypto asset whose issuance price rises monotonically and never falls. Refers to the mint price only.

mint price / cost of entry

The price at which the contract creates a new token for a deposit of collateral. Set by the contract; never decreases.

backing per token

The share of the reserve that falls to one circulating token. The lower boundary of the corridor.

corridor

The space between backing per token and the cost of entry, inside which the market price sits and may fall.

position

A non-fungible token holding its own collateral at its own entry price. Redeemable at face value; can be closed or split.

closing

Converting a position into circulating ASTRX. A close that raises backing is never charged a fee and earns voting credits; a close that dilutes backing pays the dilution fee, and the protection level may hold part of it back.

redemption

Exchanging ASTRX for a proportional share of the reserve, less the redemption fee. Always open.

protection level

The permitted drawdown of backing from its historical maximum: 61.8 % by default, tightened by vote to 50, 38.2 or 23.6.

headroom

Backing present in the pool above the minimum needed to hold the threshold. A dilutive closing may use at most 38.2 % of it.

redemption multiplier

A factor on the redemption fee equal to 1 ÷ (1 − drawdown). Continuous; returns to one as backing recovers.

regulator

A rule in the contract that moves the Phase 2 growth rate through the ladder according to inflow, one probe per cycle.

cycle

The governance period of about forty-one days in which votes are counted and the regulator acts.

voting credits

Credits earned by closing positions, usable in votes; non-transferable and destroyed on token transfer.

issuance count

The cumulative number of tokens ever created. Drives the Phase 1 mint price; never decreases.

threshold

The record of backing less the protection level, brought to the live value of the basket. Backing never goes below it. A position whose cost basis is at or above it closes in full; one below it passes only within the headroom.

record of backing

The highest backing per token ever reached, kept on book value. It updates on every operation that changes backing and never falls — not when the level is tightened, not when part of the reserve is written off.

dilution fee

Charged only on a close whose cost basis is below backing, in proportion to what that close dilutes. The rate is voted from 5.6, 9, 14.5, 23.6 and 38.2 per cent; zero is not available. It returns to the pool exactly that share of the damage done.

drawdown

How far book backing has fallen from its record. It sets the redemption multiplier, one divided by one minus the drawdown, so leaving costs more exactly when the pool is weakest.

issuance fee

Withheld at minting only. The project receives it as ASTRX, while the collateral behind those tokens goes into the common pool at the current mint price — always above the pool average, so every mint lifts backing a little. The operator sets the rate within the ceiling each stage allows, without a vote.

circulation

The tokens in circulation: everything issued by closings and by the issuance fee, less what redemption and burning have taken out. The total that can enter circulation from one record is a multiple of it.

reserve

The common pool of collateral behind the circulating tokens. Redeeming tokens returns a proportional share of it. A position’s own collateral is not in the reserve — it sits in the position until the position is closed.

collateral

The external asset deposited at minting. It stays inside the position and comes back in full on redemption; on closing it joins the common pool and becomes backing for every holder.

concentration surcharge

Taken at minting when a deposit tilts the reserve towards one issuer, or towards volatile assets, beyond the guide. It is zero while the composition is balanced and rises to a cap; it is computed on the reserve as it will be after the deposit, so the deposit that creates the skew is the one that pays. It enters the pool without issuing tokens.

9References

1. White paper 2.6
2. Overview 2.2
3. Official resources
4. FAQ

10Work it out on your own numbers

The arithmetic of the corridor and the cost of entry on an amount you choose. Computed in the browser from the curve in the white paper.

Work it out