Contracts and Lifecycle

Overview

Contracts in the Arkeo Network represent on-chain agreements between clients and data providers, defining the terms under which clients can access API services offered by the provider.

Types of Contracts

Arkeo supports two types of contracts: Subscription and Pay-as-You-Go.

Subscription Contracts

  • Purpose: Designed for clients who prefer paying a fixed rate per block.

  • Key Features:

    • Clients specify the contract duration in blocks and their queries-per-minute (QPM) to set an expected rate limit.

    • Clients deposit an amount of ARKEO (or other IBC assets) calculated as: Deposit = Subscription Rate × Duration × QPM

    • The subscription rate is deducted per block while the contract remains active.

    • Cancellation:

      • Clients can cancel the contract at any time and receive a pro-rated refund for the unused deposit.

      • Upon expiration or cancellation, the provider receives their full or pro-rated payment.

Pay-as-You-Go Contracts

  • Purpose: Designed for clients who pay based on usage, with charges applied per API request.

  • Key Features:

    • Clients specify a deposit amount from which charges are debited.

    • API requests occur off-chain but require signed messages containing a nonce for authentication.

    • Providers can submit these signed messages on-chain as proof of usage to debit the client’s deposit and credit their account.

    • Settlement Period:

      • After contract expiration, providers can make final claims within a settlement period (agreed upon during the OpenContract call).

      • Once the settlement period ends, unused funds are returned to the client.

    • Cancellation Rules:

      • Clients cannot cancel pay-as-you-go contracts and must wait for expiration.

      • Providers can cancel these contracts at any time.

Delegated Contract Usage

  • Purpose: Enables clients to delegate contract spending to another entity.

  • How it Works:

    • The client specifies the public key of the delegate in the Delegate field of the OpenContract call.

    • The delegate, if specified, or the client is referred to as the Spender of the contract.

    • Useful for scenarios where a different private key is needed to make API requests.

Claiming Contract Income

  • Pay-as-You-Go Contracts:

    • Require a ClaimContractIncome call to reconcile off-chain usage proof with on-chain records.

    • Anyone can submit these claims on behalf of the provider.

    • The provider is credited the amount specified by the usage, while the client is debited from their deposit.

Contract Uniqueness

  • At any given time, a single client (or delegate) can only hold one active contract with a specific provider for a particular API service.

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