Docs
How FLOW settles a trade, what it guarantees, and what it costs.
Two wallets. One transaction. Both sides or nothing.
FLOW is a peer-to-peer OTC desk on Solana. Instead of selling a bag into the chart, you agree a price with another wallet and swap directly. There is no FLOW program and no escrow: each deal settles as one Solana transaction that both sides sign.
0%
FLOW platform fee, on every deal
1
transaction moves both sides
0
escrow accounts. FLOW never holds your tokens
7
programs a deal can touch, all listed below
How it works
A deal is one Solana transaction with two signatures. The maker signs one half, the counterparty signs the other, and the chain moves both sides together.
- 01Maker
Post the terms
Token and amount, the price, open to anyone or one named wallet, and an expiry.
- 02Maker
Open a deal account
A small durable nonce account in the maker's name (0.00105664 SOL rent, refunded on close). A hash of the terms goes on chain in a memo.
- 03Maker
Sign one half
The maker signs the settlement transaction. The deal account keeps that signature valid until the expiry, instead of about a minute.
- 04Counterparty
Sign the other half
The counterparty adds their signature and the transaction is sent. The counterparty pays the network fee.
- 05Solana
Both sides move at once
One transaction carries both transfers. Both arrive or nothing moves, and the deal account advances so it can never settle twice.
Two legs, one transaction
Maker
Signs first, or approves
Counterparty
Signs, pays the fee
Open offers sign in the other order
The counterparty signs first, as a request to take or a counteroffer, and the maker approves one by signing second. Whoever signs second sends it. The counterparty always pays the network fee.
Inside the settlement transaction
- 1
Advance the deal account
SystemHas to be first. Once it runs, no other signed half for this deal can land.
- 2
Compute limit: 160,000 units
Compute BudgetCovers the worst case: two new token accounts and Token-2022 transfers.
- 3
Priority fee: at most 1,000,000 micro-lamports per unit
Compute BudgetSo the priority fee can never exceed 0.00016 SOL.
- 4
Check the clock
LighthouseFails the whole transaction once the chain's clock reaches the signed expiry.
- 5
Open receiving accounts if missing
Associated Token AccountDoes nothing when the account exists. Skipped for native SOL.
- 6
Label the deal
Memo"FLOW OTC fill" plus the deal id, readable on any explorer.
- 7
Maker's side moves to the counterparty
Token or SystemChecked transfer: exact mint, amount and decimals.
- 8
Counterparty's side moves to the maker
Token or SystemIf either wallet is short, the transaction fails and nothing moves.
Safety
What the chain guarantees, what nobody can guarantee, and every program a deal can touch.
Guaranteed by Solana
Both or nothing. Both transfers are in one transaction. Both arrive or nothing moves.
Settles once at most. Settlement advances the deal account, which voids every other signed half.
Expiry is on chain. After it, Lighthouse's clock check fails the transaction. No server decides this.
Named means named. A private deal only completes with the named wallet's signature.
Signed terms are fixed. Change an amount, token, wallet or expiry and the signatures stop matching.
Cancel is final. Closing the deal account voids every signed half and refunds the rent.
No custody. No escrow, no FLOW program, no delegate. FLOW holds no key that can move your funds.
Not guaranteed
That a deal settles. The maker can move the tokens or cancel. The counterparty may never sign.
That the price is fair. FLOW shows reference prices where they exist but never judges yours. Check the market yourself.
That a token is legitimate. FLOW checks how a mint behaves, not who made it or what it's worth.
What your wallet does. Read what you sign, and never share your seed phrase.
That lists are instant. Offer lists come from FLOW's server. The chain is the authority and wins any disagreement.
Before you sign, your browser:
- rebuilds the transaction from the deal's terms and compares it byte for byte,
- reads the deal account to confirm it's live and controlled by the maker,
- simulates it on mainnet,
- and refuses to send if your wallet changed it while signing.
Every program a deal touches
Solana's own programs plus Lighthouse. Lighthouse is open source, its repository includes an audit report, and Phantom adds its checks to transactions. In FLOW it gets no accounts and no signing rights, so the worst it could ever do is make a deal fail.
Tokens FLOW refuses
Token-2022 mints with any of these can't be traded, because they change what a plain transfer does.
Shown as warnings
Allowed, but the review screen tells you, because the issuer keeps power over the token after the trade.
Tokens are not locked
Making an offer locks nothing. The maker keeps full control of their tokens. If they move or sell them before settlement, the settlement fails and nothing moves for either side.
A link is not permission
A private deal's URL only helps the named wallet find it. Settlement needs that wallet's signature, which the chain checks. A leaked link can't let anyone else take the deal.
Fees
FLOW charges nothing. You pay Solana's network fees and account rent, and the deal account's rent comes back.
FLOW platform fee
0%
No platform fee, no spread, no listing fee, for every wallet. Holding $FLOW changes nothing here.
Settlement priority fee cap
0.00016 SOL
160,000 compute units × 1,000,000 micro-lamports = 160,000 lamports
The priority fee follows network conditions and is capped in the transaction itself, so a settlement can never cost more than this on top of the base fee.
Rent figures are read from Solana's current rent rate. Native SOL needs no token account and is never wrapped.
Open vs private
An open offer is for anyone. A private deal names one wallet.
- Listed for everyone in Open Offers once the deal account exists.
- A taker signs first: ask to take at the listed price, or make an offer at a different price for the same amount. Every price shows how it compares with the market and with selling on the chart.
- Each request stays valid for 15 minutes to 24 hours, never past the offer's expiry.
- The maker approves one by signing it, which completes and sends the transaction. The deal account advances, so every other request is void.
- The maker names one wallet when creating the deal. It isn't listed publicly.
- The maker signs their half for that wallet straight away.
- The maker shares the link. It helps the named wallet find the deal and grants nothing.
- The named wallet signs and sends. No other wallet's signature can complete it.
- Or it makes an offer at a different price. The maker accepts by signing it, which settles it.
Want to approach a big holder? The Token Holders page lists a token's largest wallets, and you can start a private deal with any of them from there. FLOW doesn't notify them: share the link yourself.
Expiry and cancel
Every deal has an expiry the chain enforces, and the maker can cancel at any time before it settles.
Created
The maker opens the deal account. From here it can settle once.
Expiry
Lighthouse refuses any settlement from here.
Closed
The maker closes the deal account and gets the 0.00105664 SOL rent back.
Expiry
Pick from the presets or anything from 15 minutes to 7 days. The settlement carries a Lighthouse clock check, so once the chain's clock reaches the expiry the transaction fails. No server has to be online for that.
Cancel
Cancelling closes the deal account. That voids every signed half for the deal for good and returns the rent to the maker in the same transaction. After a deal settles or expires, the maker closes the account the same way to get the rent back.
A cancel and a settlement can race. Whichever lands first wins, never both.
$FLOW token
FLOW's platform token. You never need it to trade.
$FLOW
Launches on pump.fun. The contract address shows as TBA until it's set.
What its fees fund
pump.fun pays a creator fee on $FLOW trades. Those fees are claimed to the treasury wallet and pay for hosting, RPC, development and maintenance. Every claim is public on the Treasury page.
What it does not do
It isn't required to trade. There are no holder discounts, no staking, no buybacks and no burns. FLOW's 0% fee applies to everyone the same.
Treasury
Where $FLOW's creator fees go, read from chain.
The treasury wallet receives $FLOW's pump.fun creator fees. The Treasury page reads that wallet's full history from chain and labels every transaction:
- Claim
- The wallet's SOL went up in a transaction that ran a pump.fun creator-fee instruction: collect_creator_fee on the bonding curve, collect_coin_creator_fee on PumpSwap, or distribute_creator_fees from fee sharing.
- Inflow
- Any other SOL coming in.
- Outflow
- SOL going out, including spending on running costs.
- Other
- No change in SOL, or a failed transaction.
Nothing is estimated. Every row links to its transaction on Solscan, so anyone can check it.
Open the Treasury pageFAQ
Does FLOW ever hold my tokens?
No. There is no escrow account, no FLOW program and no delegate. Your tokens stay in your wallet until the settlement transaction moves them straight to the other wallet.
What happens if the maker moves their tokens before I take the deal?
The settlement fails and nothing moves. FLOW simulates the transaction before you sign, so you normally see this before anything is sent. A transaction that does fail on chain still costs its network fee.
Can a deal settle twice?
No. The first instruction of every settlement advances the deal account. Once one settlement lands, every other signed half for that deal points at an old value and Solana rejects it.
Someone sent me a private deal link. Can anyone else with the link take it?
No. A named deal only settles with the named wallet's signature, and the chain checks it. The link just helps that wallet find the deal.
Can the price change after I sign?
No. Your signature covers the exact transaction: amounts, tokens, wallets and expiry. Change any of it and the signature stops matching, so the chain rejects it. A counteroffer is a new transaction that needs new signatures.
Why does the maker sign twice?
Once to open the deal account, a normal transaction the maker sends, and once for their half of the settlement. On a named deal both happen when the deal is created. On an open offer the second signature is the maker approving a request.
Can I fill part of an offer?
No. Deals settle in full. A counteroffer can change the price, not the token amount.
Which tokens can I trade?
Native SOL (never wrapped), classic SPL tokens, and Token-2022 tokens without the refused extensions listed under Safety. FLOW decides from the mint account on chain, not from a token list.
Which wallets work?
Any Wallet Standard wallet, such as Phantom, Solflare or Backpack. FLOW never asks for a seed phrase or a private key.
What does FLOW's server do, then?
It lists offers, stores signed halves so the other side can find them, and keeps the lists in line with the chain. It can't move funds or alter a signed transaction: your browser rebuilds every transaction from the deal's terms and compares it byte for byte before you sign.
I cancelled, but the deal settled anyway. How?
If the counterparty's settlement lands before your cancel, the deal settles and the cancel fails. Whichever lands first wins. It can never be both.
Do I need $FLOW to trade?
No. Anyone can trade on FLOW. Holding $FLOW gives no discount and no extra access.
Not financial advice
FLOW is software for trading directly with other wallets. Nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any token, including $FLOW. Prices shown are references from third-party sources. Tokens can lose all their value, and a settled transaction can't be reversed. You are responsible for every deal you sign.