Whop Name Market

1. Overview

The Whop Name Market is the secondary market for .whop names. It launches on day 31 of the genesis auction. The market inherits 31 days of real price discovery data across millions of names as its foundational comp dataset.

Three trading mechanisms serve different points on the time-value-simplicity curve. Listings for instant fixed price trading and direct negotiation. Dutch auctions for efficient price discovery through time decaying asks and encrypted conditional bids. English auctions for maximum value extraction on trophy names with competitive bidding and sealed finalization.

On the Dutch auction, the buyer's conditional bid is called a lekker price, colloquially, whatever the buyer thinks is a reasonable, fair price for the name. Something they'd be happy with. The buyer sets this level, locks APT, and the protocol executes atomically when the declining ask crosses their lekker price.

2. Universal settlement rule

Across all three mechanisms, the Whop treasury captures the spread between what the buyer pays and what the seller receives. The seller never receives more than their stated acceptable price. The buyer always pays what they stated they were willing to pay. The treasury earns the difference.

How the spread works

• ›Listing (direct match): buyer pays the ask price. Seller receives the ask minus marketplace fee. Treasury gets the fee. No spread, buyer and seller agreed on the same price.
• ›Listing (standing bid above ask): a buyer previously set a standing bid at 500 APT. The seller later lists at 400. The standing bid triggers. Buyer pays 500 (their stated price). Seller receives 400 (their stated price). Treasury captures 100 spread + marketplace fee on 400.
• ›Dutch auction: buyer's encrypted bid is 600. Seller's private reserve is 300. The bid triggers when the ask decays to 600. Buyer pays 600. Seller receives 300. Treasury captures 300 spread + marketplace fee on 300.
• ›Dutch auction (dormancy, no seller): no seller, no reserve. The full winning bid amount goes to treasury minus marketplace fee.
• ›English auction: no spread. Bidding is public and competitive, the final price is set by competition, not by private information asymmetry. The seller receives the full settlement price minus marketplace fee.

Why this matters

The treasury is the market maker, earning the bid-ask spread on every Dutch auction and listing where a standing bid exceeds the ask. The incentive is to attract high value buyers (wider spreads), improve the appraisal engine (better starting asks), and increase liquidity (more auctions, more spread capture). The treasury spread is Whop's reward for building and maintaining the market infrastructure.

3. Listing (ask / bid)

The simplest mechanism. No auction dynamics. Direct price setting and negotiation.

Seller ask

The seller sets an ask price at any APT amount. The listing can expire at any specified date, or never. The seller can retract (delist) at any time. A buyer who agrees pays the ask, instant settlement, atomic transfer via AIP-125.

Buyer bid

Buyers can submit bid offers on any name, listed or not. The bid is escrowed APT at the buyer's stated price. The owner receives a notification and can accept (instant settlement at the bid price), reject (bid refunded), or ignore (bid sits until expiry or cancellation).

A listing and bids coexist. A name listed at 1,000 APT might have bids at 600, 450, and 300 sitting below. If the owner decides 600 is acceptable, they accept that bid. If a buyer comes along willing to pay 1,000, they pay the ask directly. The ask is the ceiling. The bids are the floor. The owner navigates between them.

When to use

Sellers who know their price. Buyers who want to make offers on names not currently for sale. High volume low value trading where auction overhead isn't worth the price discovery benefit. Sellers testing the market without committing to an auction.

4. Dutch auction

The ask starts high and decays exponentially, reaching the base renewal cost at the final hour. Buyers set encrypted conditional bids. The first bid crossed by the declining ask wins. The default mechanism for expired names.

The decay function

ask(t) = baseCost + startPremium × e^(−λt)

Where t is elapsed time in seconds, startPremium is the initial premium above the base cost, and λ is calibrated to the auction duration. The terminal ask equals the base renewal: 100 APT for 1-3 char, 20 for 4 char, 5 for 5 char, 1 for 6+ char.

Starting ask

The starting ask is always protocol derived. The seller cannot set or influence it.

• ›Primary: last trade price × 1.5 + base cost. If the name has a transaction within the last renewal period (genesis sealed winning bid, prior Dutch auction settlement, Harberger forced purchase), this is the starting ask. Hardest available data, someone actually paid this amount.
• ›Fallback: appraisal engine high estimate × 1.5 + base cost. Used only when no recent trade exists. The supplemental signal for names without active market pricing.

The 1.5× buffer calibrates per category over time based on how frequently auctions clear above the starting ask.

Seller reserve

The seller's only parameter: their minimum acceptable price. Private, buyers cannot see it. Does not affect the starting ask, the decay curve, or the duration. Settlement only executes if the winning bid exceeds the reserve. If no bid exceeds the reserve by auction end, the name returns to the seller.

Encrypted conditional bids (lekker price)

Buyers set their lekker price via a slider (1 APT increments) or custom input (arbitrary decimal precision for tiebreaker differentiation). APT is escrowed on submission. The bid is encrypted via AIP-143, no other buyer can see it, no seller can see it, no observer can derive it.

The moment the ask crosses the highest active bid, settlement triggers atomically via AIP-125. The buyer pays their bid amount. The seller receives their reserve. The treasury captures the spread. All other bids refund in the same transaction.

Standing bids (set on names not currently in auction) activate automatically when the name enters a Dutch auction. They serve as demand signals, the market displays the count of interested buyers without revealing their prices.

Information transparency

The starting ask, decay curve, appraisal range, and duration are all public. A buyer can derive the market's opinion of the name's value from any of these, they are mathematically equivalent expressions of the same data. What is private: individual bid amounts, the seller's reserve, and the number of active bids at each price level.

Duration

• ›Voluntary sale: dynamic, computed as duration_hours = min(48, max(2, 12 × ln(startPremium / baseCost))). Minimum 2 hours (1 epoch), maximum 48 hours (24 epochs). Epoch aligned.
• ›Dormancy: fixed 48 hours (24 epochs). The 4 week grace period (28 days) + 48 hour auction = 31 days (1 month), matching the ANS standard expiry cycle.

Epoch alignment and settlement receipts

Every auction ends on an Aptos epoch boundary (~2 hours each). Every settlement is included in the epoch proof, the validator set's collective cryptographic attestation. The epoch settlement receipt contains the auction ID, winner, price, and Merkle inclusion proof. Dispute window: none. Settlement is final at epoch close.

Priority ordering at equal bids

At the same bid level: (1) cross platform verified holder of matching handle, (2) epoch locked bids ordered by lock duration (longest first), (3) standard bids ordered by submission timestamp (earliest first). Decimal precision tiebreaker: a bid at 100.001 APT beats 100.000.

5. English auction

Mirrors the genesis auction. Four weeks of open bidding with escalating increments. 48 hour sealed bid phase where all bids are encrypted via AIP-143, no bidder sees another's price. 24 hour reveal and settlement: sealed bids are decrypted, the winner is determined via homomorphic comparison, and the .whop name Object transfers atomically. 31 days total. For sellers who want maximum value and are willing to wait.

Starting price

The seller sets the starting bid price. The appraisal engine displays context (genesis price, secondary trade history, category comps) but the starting price is the seller's decision. Minimum: the base renewal cost for the name's tier (100/20/5/1 APT).

Escalating increments

Commitment

The English auction is irrevocable. Once started, it runs for 31 days. The seller cannot cancel. The seller designates a replacement name at auction start (or declares they are leaving the platform). If the highest bid at settlement is below the seller's private reserve, the name returns unsold.

The seller receives the full settlement price minus marketplace fee. No treasury spread on English auctions, competitive bidding is the price discovery mechanism, not private information asymmetry.

When to use

Trophy names where competitive bidding over 4 weeks produces significantly higher prices than a Dutch auction. Names where the sealed bid phase captures hidden demand above the open floor.

6. Mechanism selection

The seller sees three options when initiating a sale. A name can only be in one mechanism at a time. Switching requires cancelling the current listing or waiting for the auction to complete/expire.

Standing bids on names not in any mechanism convert automatically: if the name enters a Dutch auction, standing bids activate as encrypted conditional bids. If the name enters an English auction, standing bids convert to open bids at the stated price.

For dormancy recycling: Dutch auction only. Fixed 48 hours. No seller involvement. Protocol initiated after the 28 day grace period. Any bid at or above base cost wins.

7. The appraisal engine

The appraisal engine provides comp based value ranges for every .whop name. For Dutch auction starting premiums, it serves as the fallback when no recent trade data exists. For all other purposes, buyer context, Harberger lease pricing, base renewal rate calibration, it is the primary data source.

Appraisal dimensions

• ›String similarity: edit distance (Levenshtein), phonetic matching (Soundex/Metaphone), substring matching against the genesis dataset and secondary trades.
• ›Semantic classification: dictionary word, first name, surname, brand compatible, numeric, random alphanumeric. Each class has a value distribution from genesis data.
• ›Character tier context: structural scarcity of the character length (47,988 possible 1-3 char vs 2.18B+ for 6+).
• ›Cultural relevance: search trends, standing bid activity on the market, social media follower counts across verified platforms.
• ›Genesis calibration: 31 days of real price discovery, open bid histories, sealed multipliers, settlement prices. Every comp backed by actual market data.

The appraisal range

Each name receives a five point range: low (p10), p25, median (p50), p75, and high (p90). The range between p25 and p75 is the dense middle where most comparable names have historically settled. Buyers see this range as context when setting their bid. The appraisal updates continuously as new market data arrives.

Base renewal rate calibration

The appraisal engine drives real time adjustments to the base renewal rates (100/20/5/1 APT). Inputs: appraisal distribution of actively renewing names per tier (above base only), observed churn, and revenue optimization. Rate adjustments are continuous and uncapped. No arbitrary ceiling. If rates overshoot, bidders come in below during Dutch auctions, the engine observes, and corrects. The market provides the smoothing.

8. Cross platform identity

Holders of matching handles on Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok verify via Federated Keyless (AIP-61 extension) OAuth.

Verification timing

• ›Active window (31 days): OAuth must be refreshed within 31 days to qualify for preferential auction terms. Prevents black market handle purchases followed by a single verification.
• ›Trailing validity (90 days): for general benefits (verified badge, cross platform display). Grays out after 90 days without refresh.

Tiers

Verified holders of matching handles register new names (never previously registered) at base cost, skipping any Dutch auction.

Known creator handle acquisition and transfer royalty

Applies exclusively when: (1) someone registered a name matching a creator or brand not yet on Whop, and (2) the verified identity holder (proven via IBE) purchases that name. Tapers with platform earnings to prevent rent seeking:

9. Replacement name

Sellers may designate a replacement name. If designated, it is encrypted via AIP-143 and settles atomically, the sold name transfers to the buyer and the replacement mints to the seller in one transaction. A 30 day URL redirect is established for community continuity. Replacement is not mandatory. Sellers leaving the platform proceed without one. Their account goes inactive.

10. Complete name lifecycle

Every .whop name follows a defined lifecycle. No dead ends. Maximum time from missed renewal to available again: 31 days.

New registration

User types desired name → contract checks on chain inventory → if unregistered, instant mint at base cost. All transactions are gasless, Whop sponsors gas via sponsored transactions. Soulbound mints simultaneously. Cross platform verified holders register matching handles at base cost. No auction for uncontested names.

Active holding

Annual renewal at tier rate (100/20/5/1 APT). Prepay multiple years with Aptos Random bonus time. APT price context shown at renewal. Appraisal rate trajectory visible for prepayment decisions.

Voluntary sale

Seller chooses: listing, Dutch auction, or English auction. Starting ask protocol derived (Dutch), seller set (English), or seller set (listing). Private reserve on Dutch and English. Replacement name optional. Settlement atomic via AIP-125.

Renewal expiry → 4 week grace

28 day grace period. Name functions normally. Notifications escalate: day 1 (email), day 7 (+SMS), day 14 (email + SMS), day 21 (email + SMS), day 27 (final warning, email + SMS). Holder can renew at any point. Maximum 1 message per 24 hours.

Grace expiry → 48 hour dormancy Dutch auction

Fixed 48 hours. 28 day grace + 48h auction + 1 day Harberger = 31 days (1 ANS cycle). Starting ask: protocol derived. No reserve. The original owner participates as a standard bidder, no special reclaim right. If their bid is the highest when the ask crosses it, they recover the name. Otherwise, you snooze, you lose.

If a bid triggers: name transfers to winner, premium to treasury. If no bids at hour 48: Harberger resolution.

Harberger resolution (zero demand)

The name enters a 1 day Harberger window with three options:

• ›Option A, Lease: self assess within the appraisal range. Carrying cost derived by the appraisal engine from observed Harberger lease economics. Choose a term (1 month to 10 years). Pay carrying cost upfront. Lock APT equal to self assessed value as security bond for a minimum hold period. No forced purchase during the hold. After hold expires, anyone can buy at the self assessed value.
• ›Option B, Lifetime purchase: one time payment at the next tier up rate (5/20/100/500 APT). Permanent ownership. No expiry, no forced purchase, no renewal. Reverts to standard 1 year expiry if voluntarily sold. 100% to treasury.
• ›Option C, No claim: 24 hours pass with zero claimants. Name auto deregisters. Returns to instant mint availability at base cost. Status resets to unregistered.

A Harberger name that later sells via Dutch auction above base cost has the flag removed and re enters standard tier pricing.

11. Renewal economics

Scarcity priced. Each tier roughly 4-5× the tier below, mirroring ENS (3-char at $640/yr, 4-char at $160/yr). Rates TBD, calibrated post genesis. All transactions gasless for users. Renewal and name market trading are APT denominated, fees fund the Whop Treasury to cover new user signups and gas subsidy for all users.

Prepayment with Aptos Random bonus time: each extra week adds 2-4 bonus hours, each month 12-24h, each quarter 2.5-5 days, each year 15-30 days. Variable ratio reinforcement. Effective discount ~4-5%.

Quarterly runway extension: year 1 activity assigns renewal to Q1 (least active, months 12-15) through Q4 (most active, months 21-24). Randomized within quarter to prevent cliffs.

12. Anti sybil

• ›Email + phone 2FA: every account requires both. Bulk phone verification at $0.10-0.50/number makes sybil costly.
• ›Rate limiting: 1 name per identity per 24 hours.
• ›Behavioral fingerprinting: zero activity accounts flagged at 30 days.
• ›Q1 renewal: inactive accounts face the earliest renewal wall.
• ›Economic pressure: 1 APT/yr makes large scale squatting unprofitable.

Encrypted bids naturally deter wash trading, bidding on your own name costs real fees with no price signal benefit. Soulbound verified earnings provide ground truth against artificial volume.

13. Market revenue

• ›Marketplace fee: percentage of settlement on every trade. Rate TBD.
• ›Treasury spread: the difference between buyer's bid and seller's reserve/ask on Dutch auctions and standing bid above ask listings. The platform's reward for matching buyers willing to pay more with sellers willing to accept less.
• ›Creator handle royalty: 10 bips tapering to 1 bip on verified creator handle acquisitions only.
• ›Renewal revenue: 100/20/5/1 APT annually per active name. Scales with user base.
• ›Harberger lease + lifetime: carrying cost on leased names, one time fees on lifetime purchases.