How Meta Protocol Works
A visual walkthrough of every mechanic — epochs, the bonding curve, drafting, trading, options, and how Play Points flow through the game.
1. F2P vs. PRO Mode
Meta Protocol has two ways to play. F2P runs entirely off-chain on Play Points — PRO (coming soon) mirrors the exact same game on-chain with real USDC stakes.
F2P · Off-chain
- Currency is Play Points — earned for free, no deposit required.
- No wallet, no gas fees, zero financial risk — anyone can sign in and play instantly.
- Settlement payouts and chest/check-in rewards credit your Play Points balance directly.
PRO · On-chain
- Currency is real USDC, deposited and settled on Base Mainnet.
- Drafts, trades, and settlement run through audited smart contracts — trustless and on-chain.
- Compete for shared, on-chain prize pools funded by entry stakes each epoch.
What stays the same across both modes
- Same epochs, draft credits, and protocol roster
- Same bonding-curve pricing for buys & sells
- Same TVL-based settlement formula
- Same leaderboard & ranking system
PRO mode reuses every mechanic explained above — the only difference is what's on the line and how settlement is executed. Start in F2P to learn the game risk-free, then move to PRO once it launches.
2. The Epoch Lifecycle
Every season of Meta Protocol runs as an epoch that cycles through five phases. Each new epoch resets rosters and snapshots fresh TVL data for every protocol.
Draft Phase
Spend your 10 free draft credits to build a roster of protocols before trading opens.
Trade Phase
The market is live — buy and sell shares on the bonding curve as TVL shifts.
Options
Open call/put contracts on any protocol while trading is live, for extra upside.
Settlement
Final TVL is fetched, payouts are calculated, and Play Points are credited.
3. The Bonding Curve
Every protocol's share price follows a simple linear bonding curve: price = BASE_PRICE + supply × DELTA. Each buy nudges the price up for the next buyer; each sell nudges it down.
price(supply)
= 0.01 + supply × 0.0001 — starts at 0.01 PP and rises 0.0001 PP per share in circulation.
buyCost(s, k)
Integral of the curve from s to s+k — the total PP cost to buy k shares from supply s.
sellProceeds(s, k)
Integral of the curve from s−k to s — the PP you receive for selling k shares back.
4. Drafting Your Roster
At the start of each epoch, every player gets 10 free draft credits. Spend them to claim shares of real DeFi protocols — Aave, Uniswap, Lido, and more — before the market opens.
Each draft pick spends 1 credit and adds 1 share of that protocol to your portfolio at no PP cost — drafted shares count toward sharesDrafted in the settlement formula below. Once your 10 credits are spent (or trading opens), the draft phase ends and the live market begins.
5. Trading on the Open Market
Once the trade phase begins, you can buy or sell any protocol's shares at any time. A 2% trading fee applies to both sides.
Buy
You spend Play Points
Cost = bonding-curve integral for N shares
+2% trading fee
Supply increases → price rises for next buyer
Sell
You sell held shares
Proceeds = bonding-curve integral for N shares
−2% trading fee
Supply decreases → price falls for next buyer
6. Options: Calls & Puts
For extra upside (or hedging), open call or put contracts on a protocol's settlement price. A call pays off if the price ends above the strike; a put pays off if it ends below.
Call Option
Pays off when the final price ends ABOVE the strike price.
Put Option
Pays off when the final price ends BELOW the strike price.
7. Settlement & Scoring
When the trade phase ends, Meta Protocol fetches each protocol's final TVL and converts the TVL change into a per-share payout — this is the heart of the game.
TVL grows
finalTVL > initialTVL → payout per share rises above the 0.01 base price
TVL flat
finalTVL ≈ initialTVL → payout per share ≈ base price (0.01)
TVL falls
finalTVL < initialTVL → payout per share drops below base price
Your payout
payout = floor( heldShares × perSharePayout )
where heldShares = sharesDrafted + sharesBought − sharesSold. Open options settle the same way using getOptionPayout(type, strike, finalPrice), where finalPrice is that protocol's per-share payout.
8. The Play Points Economy
Play Points (PP) are Meta Protocol's free-to-play currency. They flow in from drafting rewards, daily engagement, and settlement — and flow out when you trade.
Sources (+PP)
Sinks (−PP)
Selling shares or letting in-the-money options settle returns PP to your balance — Play Points circulate between drafting, trading, and settlement each epoch.
9. $META Token Distribution
The $META token launches on Clanker (Base): 70% seeds the liquidity pool, and 30% is held in an on-chain vault that vests to the Protocol Multisig to fund staking, game rewards, and protocol-owned liquidity.
Total Supply Split
30% Vault Breakdown
Vault Vesting Schedule
The 30% Vault allocation is held in Clanker's on-chain vault contract at launch. After a 30-day lockup, it vests linearly over 12 months to the Protocol Multisig, which then distributes it across staking, game rewards & POL.