> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gtfo.vc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# APY guarantees

Market makers on 1st operate under a **30% APY minimum guarantee**.

Market makers earn their primary return from realized spread revenue. The APY guarantee exists because 1st is a DEX built around a new asset class, and we want to attract and support professional market makers as liquidity and trading activity are established.

### **How the APY guarantee works**

Over a defined evaluation period, the market maker’s realized return from spread capture is measured.

* If the market maker earns 30% APY or more from spread revenue, no adjustment is made
* If the market maker earns less than 30% APY, we cover the difference with a USDC payout

For example:

* If a market maker realizes a 20% APY from spread revenue over a given period
* We pay the remaining 10% in USDC to reach the 30% APY minimum

The guarantee applies only to realized spread performance. Trading fees and rebates are netted out and do not affect the calculation.

### **Purpose of the guarantee**

The APY guarantee is designed to:

* Attract professional market makers to 1st
* Ensure consistent depth and pricing from launch
* Support the formation of liquid markets for mirror tokens

The guarantee complements spread-based market making and does not replace it.